My Saviour
by Neon-Fantasy
Summary: Ion accepted a mission from the Empress to head to the Outer World in search of the Star of Hope. What Ion didn't expect was that the mission required cross dressing. He accepts, but how long can he keep his cover a secret? AU //Ion x Esther//
1. Chapter 01 Seeing is Believing

**My Saviour **

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. As much as I would like to, I don't unfortunately lol. This is an Ion x Esther story.

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Chapter 01 – _Seeing is Believing_

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"… We have been living in isolation for too long," the Empress Augusta Vradica explained, "We have our differences, just like Terrans do. But it doesn't mean that we can't find a way to co-exist. This Star of Hope may be the solution we have been waiting for."

The Empress had ordered that he, Ion Fortuna went to the Outer World to seek out the 'Star of Hope'. Apparently this 'Star' would be the link between the Terrans (Humans) and Methuselah (Vampires) and the Empress hoped that the Star could help bring the two races together in peace. Of course, with unity can also bring war.

It was one reason why the Empress wanted someone to seek out this Star and see what type of power they possessed. As soon as he located the Star, it was his job to keep an eye on them and find out as much as possible. As none of us knew who it actually was, we needed to find out what their intentions may be, what their status was in society, if they were aware of the power they possessed and so on.

Ion was down on one knee with his head bowed. He had been summoned by the Empress in regards to this mission and had been sent for alone. The Throne room where other noble blooded Methuselah came to seek audiences with the Empress was a very large and dimly lit room. A Terran would have difficultly looking about the room without straining their eyes or even getting up to have a closer look at their surroundings. Methuselah with stronger senses and physical attributes could adapt better to a room of this size and darkness. But even for them, the Empress who sat on the other side of the room to them would still have difficulty seeing her. The most any could make out would be her slim figure sitting before them with the long veil she always wore to conceal her face.

No one has ever actually seen her face as far as Ion was aware, not even the Empress' personal guards or servants. He could see that it was the Empress' way of protecting herself as she was what made their Empire so prosperous and peaceful. It was she who gave them a land of their own where Terrans wouldn't try to oppose them. It had been this way for hundreds and hundreds of years. She had been the one to give guidance to their people and she had always made the right decisions in regards to improving their Empire further. Ion couldn't picture a life without the Empress there with them. So if concealing herself from all is what was required for her to stay in power, then so be it.

"Ion Fortuna, Count of Memphis. Do you accept this mission to the Outer World in order to locate the Star of Hope?" Even though the Empress sat on the other side of the room to Ion, her voice was still very loud and clear for anyone to hear, no matter where you were in the room. She had a very calm, deep but powerful voice. Just by hearing her talk, you could feel the power she possessed both within her status as Empress but as a person. You would never dare to cross the Empress if you had any senses. But no one ever would as far as Ion was concerned. She never abused her power and she was loved by all.

Having her talk to you directly was always an honour if you didn't work as a personal servant or guard. So how could he not accept this mission she was giving him directly? He felt she must have very high faith in him to given him a mission which would determine the future of their lives. But deep down, he couldn't help but doubt it in some way. They had lived just fine without the need of Terrans. So why jeopardise something which worked just fine for everyone already? It was a gamble which Ion didn't feel was needed and should be risked. Terrans were very ignorant beings, he felt they wouldn't be able to understand their kind and would probably see it as a threat to their race. War was all he could think of, he felt getting rid of them would be the best thing they could do for themselves.

"Count, is something on your mind?" The Empress asked, causing Ion to pull himself out of his thoughts. How long had he been out of it?

"Excuse me Empress; forgive the delay in my response. I will carry out your wishes as you command of me."

"Very well, however, is there something you wish to ask me?"

Ion looked up in confusion.

"You seem to have doubts in this mission. May I ask why?"

Ion blinked a few times, not certain if he could speak his mind to her. He shouldn't doubt the Empress; he has no right to question her orders. All he could do was have faith and hope it wouldn't be the wrong decision. He would be the one to witness the Terran's intentions first hand. If he felt the Star of Hope was going to be a threat, he would kill them without a moments delay if it meant protecting their kind.

Shaking his head, Ion replied, "I do not have doubts Empress. I was just wondering what you would like me to do if this Star of Hope should turn out to be a threat."

"If that is the case, it would be best if they were brought into our custody so we can try resolving the matter. I wouldn't want any unnecessary deaths." Ion nodded as she went on, "I've been given a report that the Star is residing with the Vatican. You will be given the details in the report I have written for you."

One of the Empress' servants approached Ion with a folder, along with a parcel of other items required for the mission. At the time, Ion didn't know what else was required for the mission. That was until he was dismissed and got the chance to read the report on his own.

That's when his cussing and dilemma started.

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"I can't believe I am doing this. I can't believe I am doing this." Ion cursed repeatedly. Staring at himself in the mirror with his ruby coloured eyes, he began to wonder what he was doing to himself. He stared in disgust at the outfit he was dressed in. Why was he doing this again? Oh right, it was a mission given to him by the Empress. Of course it was his duty to obey any orders that were given to him, no matter how minor, serious or, ridiculous they were. At times he would have his doubts, sometimes he would have to bite his tongue to keep himself from objecting. Other times it would be something he expected or was more than happy to accept and follow through. But this time, when he had finished reading the report, he felt as though someone had slapped him in the face. But what was more insulting was not being told of THIS minor detail.

He usually composed himself well in front of any situation and kept his thoughts to himself. Especially if it was an order from the Empress, he was usually honoured just to have the pleasure of being in her presence. 'But this...' This mission, it was an insult to himself, his pride, his honour, and just in general, it was an insult! He was the Count of Memphis! No mission like this should be given to him. He should be one of the last people to do anything like this. But like it or not, he had accepted it now and nothing could change that.

"Ion?" A familiar voice came from behind the door, "Are you ready?"

The moment Ion heard that voice, he raced to the door and slammed his body against it, not wanting the visitor to come in, "Radu! You stay out there! Don't you dare try coming in!"

"My my," the man named Radu said in an amused tone, "You sound very distraught. Whatever may be the problem?"

"You know damn well why I'm like this!" Ion growled, "I am still trying to get ready!"

"You have had two hours to get ready. It's time to go now."

"I told you I'm not ready!"

"Well time isn't going to stand still and wait. Now come out," Radu turned the handle to the door and applied his shoulder to it. He started pushing towards it so he could get the door open. Radu couldn't budge it first which surprised him. In terms of strength, he knew he could overpower Ion but in the blonde's desperation to not be seen, he could probably rival his strength at this moment.

Radu managed to get the door open slightly with the crack about an inch or so wide but Ion wasn't going to let it budge any further.

"Radu! If you don't leave me alone then I'm NEVER coming out!"

"Oh dear, so it has come to this," an unexpected voice came behind Radu.

Radu turned to see Mirka Fortuna, the Duchess of Moldova standing behind him. She was a very beautiful woman with long blonde hair and red eyes, similar to her grandson's and like Ion, her age would be hard to guess. Both looked quite young, but being vampires or Methuselah as they liked to be called, their age would surpass any human's by hundreds and hundreds of years. That was the same for Radu and other Methuselah that lived in their Empire.

Radu bowed to her as he slowly loosened his grip on the door. He didn't want to let it go and suddenly have the door slam shut because of Ion's weight on it. Once the door eased shut, Radu moved aside for the Duchess to have access to the door. She walked up to it and nodded to Radu in thanks. Gazing back at the door she gently knocked and asked, "Ion? Are you still in there? If so, can you please come out? You have a job to do, and you must honour it like any other mission you are given. You know that."

Ion had his back to the door and sighed when he heard his grandmother's words. He knew she was right; he had no excuse for his behaviour. If this mission was given to someone else and they behaved this way, he wouldn't be impressed. So what gave him the right to act like a child and behave as though it was the end of the world? At times like this, he needed to swallow his pride for the greater good.

Taking a deep breath, Ion turned towards the door and opened it so his grandmother and Radu could see him. Taking a few steps out of his room with the white heeled boots he was wearing, he tried looking as composed and calm as he always did. But when he thought back on his reflection in the mirror, he couldn't help but stumble a little in embarrassment. Mirka, his grandmother giggled while Radu turned his head to the side, trying his best not to laugh. Imagine, the Count of Memphis, wearing a blue and white nun's dress which Terran women wore.

The outfit consisted of a nun's hat which was navy blue in colour with white edging. The long material which hung from the hat flowed all the way down Ion's back in length, like it usually did for other nuns. The dress matched the colour of the hat had the same white edging around the front of the dress, the sleeves and bottom of the dress. Around the collar was a rectangular gold bar which acted like a button to hold the two flaps of the collar together, but hanging from it was a thick gold cross which was the accessory worn with the outfit. The dress flowed to about half way down his shins where white heeled boots were noticeable. He didn't look very impressed and his cheeks were slightly pink but Ion continued standing there for his friend and grandmother to examine.

"Oh Ion, you look so cute!" Mirka cheered as she smiled sweetly at him. Radu raised his hand to his mouth as he coughed and cleared his throat of the light chuckle which was about to pass his lips. He looked to Ion and nodded with agreement, "Yes, very cute." Radu was trying to remain serious about the situation, but his tone and eyes told otherwise. Ion's eyebrow twitched with annoyance as he could see his friend's amusement. Ion knew that if his grandmother wasn't here, Radu would be laughing so hard he wouldn't be able to contain himself.

"There is just one thing," Mirka observed as she tapped her finger over her chin.

"What is it?" Ion asked with slight annoyance. He had really tried his best to dress right. It was one reason why he needed a couple of hours to prepare. Although part of the reason was to get over the embarrassment. But that didn't work as obviously shown.

Mirka didn't answer immediately but when her gaze shifted down to Ion's chest, he realised what it was and shook his head immediately, "Oh no! No way! Definitely not! I will not do it! I refuse! You can't make me!"

"Ion, I gave you something for that..."

"Yes grandmother! I know! But I still won't wear it!"

"Do you know how to put it on?"

He blushed, "O-Of course I do!" 'I think,' Ion thought in his head. But must he really wear a bra? Wasn't a dress enough already? He knew he couldn't afford to have his cover blown, but would his chest really be the difference between him being mistaken for a girl or not? Ion was already aware of his pretty features, no thanks to his grandmother's constant compliments and Radu's teasing. Radu was a lot taller with broad shoulders and more masculine features than Ion, yet what really annoyed him about this was that they were the same age. Why did Ion still look like a frail teenager when he was anything but one? He was very powerful in terms of strength and speed, but also senses. Ion could not think of anyone who could hear or see something quicker than he could. That wasn't the point though; he still wished he looked more like Radu. Mirka would keep reassuring him that his 'growth sprit' would happen eventually. But how many decades must he wait for that?

To his dismay, Ion found his grandmother guiding him back into his room where she followed and closed the door behind them. He was thankful Radu didn't follow; he didn't need to watch something as ridiculous as this. Ion sighed as he stood by the mirror again, having to dread seeing himself in a dress once more. Mirka just smiled sweetly as she walked over to the dressing table where she left the bra and padding for him to wear. She picked it up and held it out to him, "See here Ion? This is how you clip it when you have it behind your back. These straps are adjustable so fix this up after you get the bra on. And these," she waved the pads, "Are to go inside the cups alright?"

Ion had his head turned to the side with his eyes glaring at the ground. Must she have to explain this to him? He knew how it worked. But having to watch and listen to his grandmother teach him how to work a bra embarrassed him more than wearing a dress. It was like her trying to give him tips on how to undress a girl. It was not healthy hearing this type of thing from your grandmother.

Mirka wasn't sure if he had listened or not but when she made an attempt to stand behind him, Ion quickly turned around and took the bra from her, "Grandmother! I'll put it on myself!"

Mirka was taken aback from his loud outburst, "Are you sure? I can help you to make it easier."

Ion went red at that statement. She might as well offer to put his underwear on as well. "That won't be necessary! Now please go!"

Mirka giggled but nodded in response. Ion was already embarrassed enough as it was, she didn't want him feeling any more insecure. But she was still family, he didn't have anything to feel ashamed about with her. But like a good grandmother, she decided to let him have his way. She gave him the padding which he hadn't taken from her and started heading to the door, "If you need help, don't hesitate to call me alright? Please be done as soon as you can as you really need to go."

Ion nodded and waited until she walked out and heard the door click shut. Once alone, he looked down at the bra and pads in his hands and shuddered as he turned his head away. Was there a reason why his grandmother chose pink? Of all colours, why pink? Was she trying to get her fun out of this situation like Radu was? Even if it was a mission, he knew this moment will be branded in his skull forever and even IF he managed to forget, they will always remind him of it. Not that it would be something he could forget that easily anyway. If anything, Ion felt he'd be traumatized by this experience. But alas, he needed to persevere. 'Whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger right?' Somehow, that didn't help him at all.

Bringing his hands to his collar, Ion struggled as he tried undoing the gold plate where the cross hung and the collar connected. Since the collar went right up his neck, Ion found trying to look down at the collar wouldn't help as his chin kept getting in the way. Sighing in frustration, Ion felt tempted to tear the damn dress in half but didn't act on it. Instead, he turned his ruby gaze to the mirror and used his reflection to help him undo the gold plate.

This helped him in a matter of seconds which he was thankful for. Ion was in no mood for anything else to come up in regards to this mission. He hoped once putting on this stupid under garment that he can finally be left alone in regards to the outfit and have people focus on the more important things.

As he worked on un-doing the dress, Ion's mind began to drift. He started thinking about the mission and what he may encounter when he reached the Outer World. He put the bra on without any problems and added the padding as ordered. He felt like an idiot and looked like an idiot when he saw his reflection. He debated if whether or not he could take it off when he was away on his mission. At least no one would be around to say otherwise if he did choose to remove it.

Once Ion got the dress back on and started buttoning it up, he blinked when he noticed his reflection change in the mirror. He blinked again in confusion, uncertain as to what he saw since it happened so suddenly. His reflection was there now as it usually was, but as he stared into the mirror more, he watched as he saw the image change again. This time, it held for a moment longer for him to recognise the person before him.

There, sitting on the other side of the mirror seemed to be a young red haired girl with blue eyes. Her hair was short and the colour seemed to be brighter than his eyes. She was brushing her hair and looked to be occupied with what she was doing until her gazed drifted and suddenly locked with his. They stared at each other, not certain if what they were seeing was a dream or not. The girl look startled and confused, just as much as Ion was. He wasn't imagining this was he? But how could he? He had never seen this girl before.

Ion couldn't help but feel drawn by her reflection though. She seemed to glow like some kind of goddess with her surroundings dimmed and blurred. He couldn't make out the details of the room, not that it really mattered. Nothing seemed to matter at this moment. Ion was more than contempt enough to just sit and stare at her like this.

He watched as the girl started lifting her hand towards the mirror, this made Ion's heart skip a beat. Not that he was certain why, but he did feel compelled to do the same. He lifted his right hand towards the mirror and started moving it closer and closer just like she was. They were moving at the same slow pace just like a mirror image, not wanting to do anything too abrupt to scare the other away. But just as their fingers were about to touch the glass, Ion jumped when he heard the door to his room open, causing him to bring his hand back as he looked to the door.

Radu was standing there as he waved, "Sorry Ion, but the Duchess wanted me to summon you." He noticed the startled look on Ion's face and suddenly grew concerned, "Are you alright?"

Ion looked back to the mirror and saw his own reflection again. It was as if nothing happened, but Ion wasn't the type to imagine things like that. It wasn't a dream, it really did happen, but he didn't have the time to think on it.

Smiling towards Radu, Ion shook his head and replied, "Everything is fine. Sorry to keep you waiting, I'm ready now." Ion picked up his suitcase and looked back at the mirror once more before heading to the door.

"Nice chest by the way."

"Shut up."

The operation to retrieve the Star had commenced.

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**Author's Note**: Hope you all enjoyed this so far. I hope none of you didn't mind me having Ion cross dress in this story :-P I couldn't help myself. The first time I watched the anime and saw Ion, the first thought that came to my head was, "Wow, he is so pretty." And I'm just such a sap for 'cross dressing' stories lol. I've read many where girls cross dress as a guy but there is hardly any with the guy cross dressing. I suppose it's because they can't pull it off as well as girls can cross dress as guys. But I KNOW Ion can lol. He is being forced to whether he wants to or not anyway hehe. Anyway, please let me know what you think. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Thanks for reading! 


	2. Chapter 02 For Better or Worse

**My Saviour **

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. If I did, there would certainly be some changes in regards to Ion and Esther. Mainly more romance scenes XP haha. This is an Ion x Esther story.

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Chapter 02 – _For Better or Worse_

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Radu and Ion had made their way to the outer reaches of the Empire. It was here where the common Methuselah resided, where the trades happened between the Empire and the Outer World and where travel was made possible. For as long as Ion can remember, their Empire was actually disconnected from the world of Terran's. Their technology was more advanced for one, which is how they could stay in isolation for so long. They have their Empire protected from sunlight so the Methuselah can carry on with their lives happily without being harmed by it yet still enjoy the warmth it brings.

Walking in and out of the Empire and the Outer World was impossible without proper authority. The Empress or someone of high status had to authorise the use of travel between each world for the protection of their kind. It also helped having records kept of who was where in case if any incidents happened in the Outer World.

"Here," Radu said as he handed the signed paperwork from the Empress which gave permission for Ion to leave the Empire, "The trip is for research to further our understanding of Terrans." Ion's mission was one which held many risks, not to mention required an undetermined amount of time in the Outer World. Because of this, only a select few knew of his mission and it was them who would assist him if required or needed if worse comes to worse.

The guards who were standing by this sealed door stood in front of one which led to one of the Empire's spy crafts. Because of this, one of these ships required high level clearance for use. There were other sealed doors surrounding the outer ring of the Empire which led to other airships. Different security clearances were required, some were higher than most.

When the guard looked over the letter he asked, "Do you have authorisation to use this type of aircraft?"

"…Excuse me?" Radu asked, surprised that he was being questioned further after handing over a letter from the Empress herself.

"Where is the letter authorising use of these ships? I can't allow just anyone to take one as they please."

"What? But this letter is from the Empress! That's high enough clearance surely!"

"Her authorisation was for this young lady to leave the Empire. It doesn't say anything here about using a spy ship. You can always board a cargo ship."

Radu was dumbstruck while Ion just sighed. If these guards saw him as the Count of Memphis then there wouldn't be any of this needless paperwork and authority clearances. It was because Radu wasn't of noble blood like he was, which was why he got picked on in situations like this. It was the same for other Methuselah who weren't nobles but still, seeing this happen to him now made him wonder how the commoners put up with it.

Stepping in front of Radu, Ion held out the letter which his grandmother wrote and signed with her personal seal attached to it, "Here, this should be sufficient enough." His grandmother had given this to him before leaving their home in case there was any trouble. 'No one will know you are the Count of Memphis dressed like that, therefore you will need this letter if you expect to use a private aircraft,' she explained to him. Ion didn't think he'd need it at the time, lucky he still took it from her regardless.

The guard took the letter from him and smiled, "Thank you sweetie." As the guard started examining the letter, Ion had gone completely still and speechless. Did the guard just call him 'sweetie'?! What gave him the right to call him that?! He hardly got called that by his grandmother let alone anyone else! 'Wait; calm down Ion, you are in disguise. He doesn't know who you are. Let this slip for now as he doesn't know any better. You will encounter worse than this in the Outer World.'

The other guard smiled down at Ion and added, "I must say it is very brave of you to go to the Outer World all on your own."

"I-I guess…" Ion replied. He still couldn't get over the fact he was called sweetie. Just the sound of it made his skin crawl.

The guard seemed to notice how tense Ion looked and thought he might try saying something which would cheer him up, "I bet your boyfriend will miss you. With a cute face like yours, I wouldn't be surprised if he ran after you after being worried sick." He laughed and patted Ion on the head while winking at Radu who simply froze at the unexpected statement. 'Ion… Don't…' Radu prayed in his head but it didn't seem to reach him.

It was bad enough to be called sweetie but if being patted wasn't bad enough, having some one imply he was in a romantic relationship with his best friend who happened to be male made him want to punch this guy in the face. 'Oh you are in for it now,' Ion thought to himself as he started rolling up his sleeves.

At that moment, the guard who had received Ion's letter had put through the security code to unlock the sealed door, "It's open, you may enter," the guard said.

"Thank you very much!" Radu said as he pat Ion across the back to stop him from whatever it was that he was about to do, "Time to go now, wouldn't you say sweetheart?" He pulled Ion back by grabbing onto his shoulder. There wasn't going to be any violence here if he could help it.

"SWEETHEART?!" Ion shouted angrily. Before he could say any more, Radu picked him up from the ground carried him within his arms.

Radu smiled at the guards and said, "Forgive her; she is a bit distraught about leaving for the Outer World."

"I can understand," one of the guards said, "Wouldn't want to go to that vile place myself."

"Yeah, but if it's a direct order from the Empress, you've got no choice." The other guard added.

"Yes I agree it's what I have been trying to tell her." Radu looked down at Ion and smiled sweetly, "Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll be there to save you."

"... Oh how reassuring," Ion said sarcastically as he glared at Radu. His friend just continued smiling as he carried Ion through the door and continued walking down the corridor until the door closed.

"Nice couple," one of the guards said after a while.

"I'm jealous, his girlfriend's cute."

"She looks too young for you."

"Still cute though."

Radu and Ion made it to ship without any time wasted and started getting it ready for lift off. Radu had already put Ion down once the door had closed behind them but the blonde still couldn't help giving him a shove for making him look like an idiot.

"Ion, you do realise you are in disguise right? The guards don't know it's you so don't lose your patience so easily. I had to do something to stop you from hurting them!" Radu said, trying to explain himself.

"But I hardly look any different! They should have recognised me!" Ion yelled with annoyance as he sat himself down on the co-pilots seat and folded his arms.

Radu sighed as he sat himself in the pilot's seat beside him. He started up the aircraft and replied, "You may not notice it but you really do look different. No one in their right mind would want to picture the Count of Memphis in female attire. That is, if they knew what was good for them. Tell me, how would you respond if they did recognise you? Wouldn't you have wished they didn't?"

Radu had a point, Ion admitted to himself. He shouldn't get offended so easily. Ion knew he couldn't afford to fail this mission, but he couldn't help getting worked up. It was the outfit! It put him on edge. It worried him that someone would recognise him and tell everybody about it. He would lose the respect his family had earned over the course of each generation. Ion didn't want to shame himself or his grandmother, but he had no experience in this type of thing.

"Don't worry Ion, you will be fine. In the Outer World, no one knows of us or our identities. So to them, you are just another person. Even if you encounter another Methuselah, I'm sure they wouldn't expect to see the Count there, especially not dressed as a girl from the Vatican."

Ion nodded and smiled, feeling a bit better now, "Thank you Radu."

"Besides, you forgot you've got something which the male you doesn't normally have," Radu said as he patted his friend's chest, "You can always use this to your defence."

Ion glared and suddenly twisted his friend's arm, "If you comment on my chest one more time, I swear I'll break your arm."

"Owww, alright!" Radu laughed a bit, "Let go already!"

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The trip to the Outer World went by far too quickly for the Count. He was starting to get nervous as they started flying over Rome. They would be reaching their destination soon.

To get his mind off of the mission, Ion found himself thinking about that girl he had seen in his mirror. Picturing her beautiful face and figure, he began to wonder who she actually was. How did an image of a girl project itself onto his mirror like that? Was his mirror enchanted or something?

He shook his head at that, sounded like something you'd see in fairy tales. But still, he wondered if it was a premonition. Would he be meeting this girl in the near future? If so, what was in store for the both of them? What would she be like? Would they get along? What would she think of him? Ion blinked as he realised what he was thinking and shook his head again while blushing, 'Geez listen to your self. You have never seen or met this girl before and you are already longing for her.'

"You okay Ion?" Radu asked as he looked over at him.

"Y-Yes, just thinking about the mission," Ion explained as he coughed a bit, wanting to dodge the real topic in mind.

"Have you taken your pill yet?"

"Oh, yes I must do that."

Ion got his suit case out and reached inside for a little container which held multiple pills inside. They were one of the few items which the Empress had given him when he had the report handed to him. They were to help his body resist sunlight while he was in the Outer World. They didn't know what to expect while he was there and if he tried explaining to the Vatican that he couldn't go out in broad daylight, it was basically admitting he was a Methuselah who wished for death as that would be their next move.

"Remember, we don't know how well those pills will work." Radu said while Ion was examining them, "They have only been tested a couple of times and the effects varied on those who took them. If you plan on being out in the sun a lot, you may need to take them frequently. But be aware that they don't make you completely immune to the sun; it's only to help withstand it. To be safe, it would still be better if you kept yourself concealed from the sun as much as possible. While that outfit looks just like the ones the Vatican wear, it's also made to help protect your body from the sun. So with your body basically covered in that outfit, the pills will help to protect your face as that's the only part of your body exposed."

Ion took the pill and swallowed it as he nodded in response to Radu. He had read all of this in the report already, but he knew his friend was only looking out for him.

"Hopefully there won't be any side effects," Ion stated, now realising he had already taken one without knowing that little detail. Funny how he kept coming across these situations, which involved him getting gypped in some way. First was this mission which involved cross dressing then it was the pink bra which still bothered him. It wasn't the colour so much anymore as he didn't have to see it; it was the fact that it was so uncomfortable. But ultimately, he hoped that the pills didn't do anything which would jeopardise his mission.

"Ion…" Radu started after a while of silence, "The Empress' intentions for peace with Terrans. Do you really think one person; a Terran for that matter can really make the difference between peace and war?"

"I don't know," Ion replied in all honesty, "I guess that's why I'm being sent there to find out."

Once the ship had landed at one of the contact residences which was owned by the Empire, Radu stared down at the controls and asked, "How do you feel about this? I mean, I know you aren't fond of Terrans. So why would you want to do something like this?"

"I was ordered to, the Empress commands it." Ion answered as he got up from his seat, "My feelings on the matter aren't important. It doesn't change the Empress' intentions. If she believes the Star will help unite our races then so be it."

Ion picked up his suitcase and looked back at Radu who seemed to be deep in thought. He could tell Radu didn't support this move by the Empress. Ion felt the same way but couldn't voice out these thoughts. Something at the back of mind prevented him from saying anything negative about them. Was it because the Empress held such strong feelings towards the situation that he hoped it worked out in the end?

Either way, he was going to be the channel between the Methuselah and the Terrans. If they did or said anything disrespectful, the deal would be off. But the ultimate judgement would be placed upon the Star. He was ready for the worse, and was prepared to put his life on the line for the good of the Empire.

"I'll see you later," Ion said as he patted Radu on the shoulder.

Radu nodded and smiled a bit, "Take care of your self. I'll see you in a few days just to see how you are holding up."

Ion smiled and nodded back as he started heading out the cockpit. Radu watched him leave and waited until he was out the ship. It was finally time to go back.

Radu turned back to the controls and started up the ship again. His friendly attitude had suddenly turned to one of bitter disgust. He glared upon the city of Rome and felt glad knowing he could leave for the time being.

"With peace, also comes war."

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Ion stayed for lunch at the little inn which Radu had dropped him off at. It was one of the various contacts around the city for Methuselah to visit if they chose to. Methuselah that were away from the Empire would be out on business which mainly revolved around trade. Places like this which were owned by the Empire and ran by Methuselah helped visitors from the Empire feel safer when away from home.

'Well, I can't get myself too comfortable here,' Ion thought to himself, 'I'll need to head to the Vatican soon.'

As Ion sipped some of his tea, he noticed it didn't have enough milk in it. Standing up from the table, Ion started heading towards the kitchen and he called out, "Excuse me, I need some more milk fo-"

"Ah! Miss Erin?!" A loud bellow came from behind him. 'That name', Ion realised as he stopped by the entrance of the kitchen. It was the code name he had been given on this mission. It was how he was to be addressed when he was with the Vatican. Ion turned his head at that moment, 'Don't tell me it's…'

"Ah so it is you! I have come to pick you up!" A tall silver haired priest seemed to be running towards him, waving his hand frantically and excitedly as though his voice wasn't enough to grab Ion's attention.

Once the man stood in front of Ion, he hunched over for a moment to catch his breath as he seemed to be out of air. Had the priest been running all the way from the Vatican to see him? Ion knew originally that he was to meet someone here in order to be escorted to the Vatican. But as Ion left the Empire late, he thought he would have missed the contact. Assuming this, he thought he could relax and get something to eat before making his way there himself. Pity, he would have liked to explore a bit before turning up. He was ready to give them a good excuse for his late arrival but it seems that wouldn't be necessary anymore. Once again, pity.

"So sorry to make you wait. I know I was supposed to pick you up an hour ago but," The priest took one last gasp of air and smiled brightly as he stood up straight again, "I realised I had no money for a taxi! I knew I had to pick you up some how so I ran all the way here hahaha!"

'Is that something to be proud of?' Ion questioned in his mind but decided to dismiss it. Keeping a stern face, Ion looked up at the tall man and brought a free hand up to him, "I know you already have my name from the paperwork sent to you by St. Mary's but I'll introduce myself properly. I am Erin Flortua, nice to meet you Father."

The priest smiled, "My name is Abel Nightroad. I am a priest from the Vatican as you might have already guessed haha." He took Ion's hand between both of his and started shaking it excitedly, "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Erin Flortua!" Abel was shaking his hand so quickly that Ion found it hard to balance the tea cup on the saucer he was holding.

"F-Father Nightroad!" Ion called out as he wanted the priest to stop shaking his hand but at that moment, he felt some of the hot tea land on his hand. Once he felt this, Ion winced and suddenly lost his grip on the plate. "Ahhh!" Abel called out as he tried making an attempt to save the cup and saucer from falling but as a result he burned himself from the hot liquid contents and found the cup and saucer fall into multiple pieces on the ground.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry Miss Erin! Let me clean this up as it was my fault!" Abel got down on his hands and knees as he started gathering the pieces into one pile on the ground. Ion sighed and decided to get out of his way. He wasn't the one Abel should be apologising to as the crockery didn't belong to him. Although now that he thought about it, didn't Ion order lunch some time ago?

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" One of the workers called out from the kitchen, "Here is your lunch!" The worker was holding a tray with all of Ion's food on it. Of course with her view of the ground covered by the tray, she didn't notice the priest hunched on the ground in front of the doorway.

Ion went wide eyed when he noticed her coming, "Wait!"

"Huh?" It was too late; the worker's legs had already made contact with the priest's side. "Ahhhh!" Both the worker and Abel cried out as she collapsed over him while Abel was crushed from the sudden weight. Ion had hoped he could catch her before she collapsed but because of the sudden fall, the worker had lost her grip on the tray so as a result, the food flying and the only thing to prevent that from making contact with the ground was Ion and his dress.

"..."

At least, he kind of saved something right?

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"Ummm, please forgive me for the mess. I am truly sorry for the inconvenience I have caused." Abel apologised as he bowed his head repeatedly to the inn hostess. She just simply smiled weakly, "It's alright Father." Ion just rolled his eyes at the priest but bowed to the hostess of the inn. Ion had paid for the meal and the crockery damaged, even though it was the priest who caused all the trouble, he had no money to pay for mess himself. It was why Abel wanted to work to pay off his debt himself but deep down, Ion figured the hostess just wanted to get rid of him. He was a Terran after all.

Ion's dress had been ruined from the incident at the inn. He had tried cleaning it as best as he could but it was still heavily stained from his lunch. There was nothing he could do about it until he reached the Vatican and got it washed properly. But that meant having to walk in there in a complete mess. 'So much for first impressions,' Ion thought.

Standing by the side of the road, Ion hailed for a taxi to take them to the Vatican. Unlike the priest, Ion was not willing to spend a good hour or more walking, not while he was this dirty anyway. When the carriage made a stop in front of him, Ion opened the door and closed it behind him once he was inside.

Looking out the window, Ion glared when he noticed Abel STILL talking to the inn hostess. Couldn't he get over it already? Ion had already cleared things up with her, what else did the priest expect done? "Hurry up Father or else you can walk!" Ion called out impatiently.

"Yes, yes I'll be there soon!" Abel called out as he started saying his farewells to the inn hostess. Ion's patience with the priest was already worn thin, and this definitely didn't help the situation. Ion growled with annoyance and decided enough was enough.

"Driver!" Ion called out as he waved his arm out of the window, "Let's get going!"

The driver nodded and started up the carriage. Once it started moving, Abel noticed this and suddenly panicked, "Miss Erin! You forgot me! Hey!" Noticing the carriage wasn't stopping, Abel started running after it with his arms waving over his head. "MISS ERIN!!!!"

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**Author's Note: **Second chapter now complete :D Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm so glad you all enjoyed the first chapter. I haven't written a story in like, 2 years so I was worried about how it would turn out lol. Your reviews have given me the courage to keep going. Thanks :-) Esther will be in the next chapter, so thing will start getting a bit more interesting. Thanks for reading!  



	3. Chapter 03 A Destined Meeting

**My Saviour **

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. But I'd at least like to own Ion and Esther, if not, at least plushy versions of them lol. Wow, I actually want them as plushies now. They would be so cute! O.O (has made a new goal in life) – kidding (maybe lol)

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Chapter 03 – _A Destined Meeting_

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"MISS ERIN! PLEASE WAIT!" Abel's loud shriek came yet again as he tried keeping up with the carriage. Ion had his arm propped up on the window sill with his hand cupped under his chin. He sighed as he watched the buildings of Rome pass him by. He had to admit the architecture here wasn't so bad. It didn't match the beauty of his Empire but he had to give some credit to the Terrans in regards to this town. Then again, the reason why it may seem so prosperous is because of the Vatican's headquarters residing here.

"MISS ERIN!"

How would the rest of the towns look outside this city? Ion hasn't travelled much around the Terran world, but when flying over with Radu earlier, he noticed other Terran towns didn't seem as impressive as Rome. They just seemed like quiet retirement villages in his eyes. But if anything were to happen to those towns, would they have the protection of the Vatican?

"MISS ERIN!!"

That's something Ion needed to discover when he reached his destination. Finding the Star of Hope was one thing, but until then, Ion still regarded Terrans as enemies. Even if no incident has happened to upset the relationship between the Vatican and the Empire, they were still on a neutral basis so it could go either way. If war were to strike out as a result of the Star, the Vatican would surely want to protect them and that would mean they would fight the Empire with everything they had.

"MISS ERIN!!!"

Ion's elbow slipped from the window sill as a result of the priest's irritating voice. The young Methuselah turned his body and moved the curtain at the back of the carriage to see the priest still trying to get his attention. He would have thought that Abel would either stop from exhaustion or get the idea that he was ignoring him. If he wasn't so persistent, Ion would have considered stopping as he would have felt a little pity. But now he felt he had to stop because it was really, REALLY getting on his nerves.

"Driver!" Ion called out from the side window, "Stop the carriage please. It seems the priest would like a lift."

When the carriage made a stop at the side of the road, Ion got out with his suit case and walked to the front of the carriage to speak to the driver. They talked for a moment while Ion handed him a little pouch. Abel had finally caught up with Ion at this point, and when he did, he was hunched over puffing again in exhaustion. He looked a lot more exhausted than last time, and all Ion could respond to that was good riddens.

"T-Thank you Miss Erin," Abel bowed his head a bit while trying to catch his breath still.

Ion just smiled and said, "Don't worry Father, you can take it easy now." Ion gestured to the carriage where the priest gladly got inside. He was relieved knowing he could sit back and relax while the carriage took him the rest of the way to the Vatican. He wasn't aware that Ion didn't get back inside and actually appeared to be walking off. The carriage started up for a moment, moved a couple of paces then stopped again.

"Eh?" Abel blinked in confusion then looked out the side window, "Mr. Driver! Is there a problem?"

"Huh?" The driver looked back at him, "We're already here. The Vatican is right before us."

Abel looked out the other window and suddenly gapped in disbelief. Did he run all the way back to the Vatican again!? No wonder he was so tired. The priest was so eager to ride in the taxi that he was unaware of his surroundings. It explained why the young blonde wasn't sitting in here with him. But Ion needed an employee from the Vatican to let him inside the building. It was another reason why he needed the escort. Abel quickly got out of the carriage and looked to the driver, "Um, t-thank you for the lift! You, have already been paid right?" Abel was starting to worry then as his mind wandered back to the incident at the inn.

The old driver chuckled a bit and nodded, "Yes, the young lady has already paid me. You should be careful not to be out witted so easily Father. Take care, and have a good day." The driver started up the carriage again while Abel bowed numerous times and waved before setting off to find Ion.

Ion waited by the large entrance of the Vatican and waited for the priest to catch up. He knew it was a little unreasonable of him to make Abel run again, especially when he had done so the first time to meet up with him at the inn. But the young Methuselah was a nobleman, so with what he had to endure upon the priest's arrival was disgraceful to his honour. Abel's little endurance run was a way to make him pay for the humiliation, even though he may not have realised it himself. Hopefully now that they were here, nothing else would happen but Ion already knew not to expect that.

"Miss Erin!" Abel called out as he stopped beside her, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Come, let us go inside." He walked up to one of the guards and showed his I.D card to confirm his identity. The guard glanced at it and nodded as he let him pass, although he raised his eyebrow at Ion mainly because of his outfit. But once his gaze met Ion's, he noticed the cold glare he was receiving. The guard couldn't help but feel somewhat intimidated by it as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his neck. He turned his gaze away and stared straight ahead as though nothing bothered him. Ion could see the affect he made on the guard and couldn't help but feel satisfaction from it. No one stares at him disgracefully if he had anything to do with it.

Once they were inside, Ion's earlier annoyance at the guard was forgotten as he stared in awe at his surroundings. He thought the Vatican looked quite impressive from the outside, but the inside gave a whole new impression to him. He almost felt as though he was back at the Empire with how the building was constructed. The interior design had its Terran touches but it wasn't something he minded. But why was it that he received a different feeling to this place compared to the other buildings surrounding it?

Oh well, what did it matter? He was going to be living here for a while, so if he already felt at home, it would make things much easier for him to deal with. His main concern would probably be the people he'd have to put up. Hopefully none will be as bad as the silver haired priest.

Abel smiled at Ion and said, "I'll show you around a little later once you get some rest. I'm sure your journey here must have been a tiring one. I know it was for me that's for sure haha!" Abel laughed for a moment while Ion just stood there, not very amused as he was the reason the journey was so tiring.

"Please come with me, I'll be showing you the living quarters of the other AX apprentices." Once Abel started guiding him, Ion followed with his suitcase and tried keeping in mind where they were going. He couldn't believe the priest got them lost on two occasions on the way to the living quarters. Abel had to ask for directions a couple of times and kept apologising to him for the inconvenience. Ion began to understand Abel a little as they walked up a flight of stairs; he couldn't believe how big the Vatican actually was. It would probably take a while to memorise the whole building probably.

Once they made it up to the next floor, Abel walked down a corridor which had numerous doors either side which were probably where the AX apprentices resided. This would be where Ion will be staying as well.

Once the priest stopped by a door which was numbered 137, Abel smiled down at Ion and said, "This is where you will be staying. I'll see about getting you another outfit. You may also want to freshen up as well. So please, try and relax today." The priest opened the door for him and allowed Ion to enter. Once he was inside, Abel waved and closed the door before leaving him in peace.

The young Methuselah looked around and noticed the room was quite plain and small. It had two beds in either corner of the room with a window between them. To his left was a dressing table with a mirror and desk, then to his right was a cupboard. This was going to take some getting used to. His room back home was five times this size, not to mention better accommodated. But what did he expect? He and the other AX apprentices were living here rent free so he couldn't expect luxury. Besides, this wasn't permanent, he needed to remember that.

Putting his suitcase on one of the beds, Ion looked at the other and wondered for a moment why there were two. The answer came to him then as he heard the door open. He turned his gaze to see who it was and at first expected the priest with a new dress for him but with who came in took him totally off guard. A girl in nothing but a white towel walked inside the room.

She closed the door once she was inside and looked to be drying her hair with another towel. She didn't notice him at first but once she removed the towel from her head, she noticed him and suddenly jumped in surprise. Ion was too shocked to say anything.

"Oh, hello," the girl with vibrant red hair replied. She smiled with her sapphire eyes gleaming at him while Ion just stared more. She looked very familiar but he couldn't figure out why. Not that he could think in GENERAL right now. There was a complete stranger in his room with nothing but a towel around her! He swallowed in nervousness and noticed his gaze unintentionally wander down her body. Her damp towel hugged her slim form nicely as he could see every curve of her body. His gaze rested for a moment at the little amount of cleavage he could see from her chest and suddenly went bright red.

"W-W-W-What are you doing in here!?" Ion stuttered as he pointed to the door, "P-P-Please leave and get your self dressed!"

The red hair girl tilted her head to the side in confusion but just smiled at him and said, "But this is my room. I'm intending to get changed now." Ion felt his heart leap at the remark and swallowed again at the lump which didn't seem to want to go away. He watched as the girl brought her hands to the towel and Ion felt he was going to die on the spot. He quickly turned around so he was facing the window and listened as he heard the towel removed from the girl's body. He closed his eyes to try and block out the sound but instead he was welcomed by visual images of the girl standing naked before him. He opened his eyes again and shook his head as he brought his hands over his bright red face. He would have gladly walked out of the room if he knew this was going to happen but he couldn't make a move to unless he DID want to see her naked.

"What's your name?" The girl asked as he heard the cupboard doors open.

"U-Umm… I'm… I'm err…" 'Damn it! What was my name again!?' Ion felt like slapping himself then. He had spent hours at home memorising the role he had to play on this mission. He had mentally prepared himself for any type of danger he may face and felt he could take on anything. But he hadn't prepared for anything like this, nothing like this at all! He cursed himself for the weakness and stupidity he was experiencing and couldn't help but hit his head on the window.

"Oh, are you alright?" The girl asked.

"… I'm Erin Flortua." Ion finally said as he took a deep breath. He patted the window then and silently thanked it for bringing him back to his senses… At least some of his senses anyway.

"Ah, nice to meet you Erin. My name is Esther Blanchett!" Ion heard the girl walk up behind him and tried remaining calm about it. He felt his heart rate increase by the second as he felt her presence move closer to him. He jumped with surprise when he felt her hand on his shoulder and felt he was going to pass out as she turned him around. Looking at her now, he noticed she was dressed in the same blue and white nun's robe that he was. This calmed his nerves down a bit but his heart was still beating rapidly from the thought of facing her naked body.

She looked at him with concern and asked, "Are you alright? I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable but since we will be living together in this one room, we won't be getting much privacy for ourselves." She smiled in reassurance, "But don't worry, once we get to know each other better, it won't seem so bad. We are both girls after all hehe."

". . . . . . . . . . . ." That did not make him feel any better.

"Oh, what happened to your dress?" Esther asked as she noticed the stains from Ion's lunch.

Thinking back on it, Ion just sighed and shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's a long story."

"I see. Well Erin, we can't have you staying like that all day." Esther walked to the cupboard and got out one of her own spare dresses. She walked over to Ion and held it against him just to see if it would fit. They were the same height and looked around the same size so she thought it would be okay. "Try this on; I think it should be suitable enough till we get your dress washed."

Well, he figured it would as it was the same dress anyway. He nodded his thanks to Esther and took the dress from her. It did look around his size so it should be okay. But he needed his own dress washed as soon as possible as it would help him adapt better in the sunlight. Luckily he didn't think he'd be going outdoors again for the rest of the day so wearing this substitute dress should be alright for now.

Putting the dress down on the bed, Ion took the nun hat off his head and revealed long blonde hair which had half of it up in a pony tail while the other half flowed down his back. He was worried about the wig falling off his head so Ion had the pony tail tied tight so it was attached to his normal hair as well. It wouldn't stop the wig from falling off his head if someone pulled at it but at least if the wind blew at it, it should be okay.

"Oh wow! You have beautiful hair Erin!" Esther said as she stared at it in awe.

Ion turned and looked at her smiling a bit, "Um, thanks."

"You're welcome," Esther smiled, "Please let me brush it for you sometime."

"We'll see…" Ion answered, thinking the chances of that happening was highly unlikely but she didn't have to know that. Ion started undoing the gold plate over his collar and removed it with ease that time. He had mastered the trick to removing it when he had to put the bra on a home but as he was about to undo the rest of the outfit, he turned his head and noticed Esther was still standing there.

". . . . . . . . . ."

There was a pause for about a minute or so with Ion staring at her blankly. Esther was just patiently waiting for him but when she noticed him staring she raised her eyebrow at him and asked, "Um is something wrong?"

"Um, I need to change…"

"… Yes…" Esther nodded slowly, not really getting where he was going with this as she knew that already.

"So…"

"So…?"

". . ." Did he need to spell it out to her? What else needed to be said? If she was comfortable getting naked in front of total strangers then she is welcomed to it. He on the other hand needed to keep some certain things a secret from her which couldn't really be explained at this present moment, not to mention understood. Plus if she noticed he had no chest at all but a certain something else which women didn't have, there would be some problems.

"Can you let me change on my own?"

"Why?" Esther asked in curiosity, "I got changed in front of you."

'Yes and?' Ion thought as he couldn't help but sigh with impatience.

"Shy are you?" Esther smiled.

"… Yes, yes I am very shy." Ion figured he might as well play along if it meant he could get her out of the room for just a minute, "Which is why I want some privacy."

"Well, that would be a nice luxury," Esther pondered but then sat on his bed and smiled, "But as I said, we share this room. So you aren't the boss of me."

Ion's eyebrow twitched as he felt ready to give her a piece of his mind but held him self back by biting his tongue. He was not about to let this girl get the better of him. But as he looked at her, he noticed her smiling at him cheekily as she crossed her legs and laid back across the bed more. 'Is she toying with me?' Ion couldn't help but glare.

"Get off."

"Hmm?" Esther smiled more.

"That is my bed." Ion said as calmly as he could but there was a hint of anger detected in his tone which couldn't be hidden from Esther. She felt ready to laugh but tried remaining calm and composed like he was.

"Actually, this is my bed. I claimed this bed long ago before you even set foot in this building." She poked her tongue out at him and giggled.

He had no time for this. This was going no where and it was wasting his valuable exploring time. There were numerous rooms in this building; surely he could find one where he could change in peace. He started walking for the door with the spare dress in hand and was about to reach for the door knob when he heard Esther say, "You… Don't recognise me do you…?"

He paused for a moment, wondering at first what she meant then suddenly went wide eyed in realisation. He knew he had seen her from somewhere but he couldn't think of where and when. Now it was as clear as anything, she was the girl he saw in his mirror.

Ion was about to say something in regards to that when suddenly the door swung open with such speed and force that it collided right against his face. He fell back first onto the ground while his favourite priest walked in smiling brightly, "Hello! Anyone home!?" He noticed Esther sitting on the bed and smiled brightly at her, "Good afternoon Miss Esther! How are you today?" He looked around briefly before adding, "I have bought a spare dress over for Miss Erin. Have you seen her?"

Esther blinked in shock and got up from the bed, "Um, Father, she's err, well…" She pointed down at the ground where Ion was lying. Abel looked down to where she was pointing and the moment his blue eyes caught the young Methuselah on the ground, he started to panic, "MISS ERIN!? OH MY GOODNESS! WHAT HAPPENED!? ARE YOU HURT!?" He got down beside him and took Ion's hand in his. He brought his other hand over Ion's and started patting it, hoping to get the blonde's attention, "Please wake up!"

'Please kill me…' Ion thought to himself as he continued lying there, feeling safer on the ground than in the care of the priest. But as he made an attempt to sit up, he found himself suddenly very dizzy with his head feeling as though a ton of bricks had landed on it. Lying back down, Ion closed his eyes in a hope that it would make his head feel better but he could still feel his mind spinning. He could hear voices calling to him, he recognised them as Abel and Esther but eventually he heard their voices die out as though he was drifting into another world. All he could remember before losing consciousness was a pair of strong arms lifting him from the floor while another gentler and slimmer hand had rested against his face.

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"Erin…" A voice called to him, "Erin…"

Ion stirred a little in his sleep, not wanting to wake up just yet. He felt very comfortable where he was, feeling as though he could sleep forever. A hand rested on cheek which made him moan a bit from the warmth. His hand slowly rested over the one on his cheek as he allowed his fingers to caress over the smooth surface of their skin. The hand moved into his as he felt their fingers intertwine. Slowly he felt himself being pulled to his feet, much to his regret but he didn't utter a word of protest.

He still felt as though he was floating. Ion wanted to see his surroundings but couldn't find the will to open his eyes. The hand he had in his grasp slowly pulled away while Ion tried keeping it with him. He reached out slowly for it but found his arm lowering back to his side as it was too heavy to keep up. What was happening to him? Where was he?

"Erin, how are you feeling?" There was that voice again. Did it belong to whoever touched him earlier? Their voice was soft and heavenly; it was like listening to a sweet lullaby. He recognised it belonged to a female yet it wasn't from one he knew. It didn't found like his grandmother, or the Empress. It wasn't anyone close to him yet he felt connected them in some way. He felt as though he could trust them with his life.

He opened his mouth, wanting to speak back but found he couldn't. He tried again but felt those gentle hands once more as they rested their fingers against his lips to silence him.

"It's alright; I can tell you are okay. I'm glad." Their hands rested against his cheeks while he felt their presence move closer to him, "Erin, tell me, who are you?" Ion was in a daze as heard the girl's words. What did she mean? She seemed to know his name. "Yes, I know you as Erin," the voice answered as though they could read his thoughts, "But is that your real name?"

'My real name…' Ion thought to himself, 'I'm… I'm…' Suddenly realisation dawned on him that this was no ordinary dream. His eyes flashed open in hopes to see the person before him but instead he found himself blinded by a piercing light which seemed to illuminate around him. He felt whoever else was with him had lowered their hands from his face and escaped into that light. He wanted to call out to them or chase after them but he couldn't do either. Instead, he felt himself falling as though he had been flying all that time. He watched as the bright lighted dimmed away to total darkness.

Before he knew it, Ion suddenly sat up in bed gasping as though he had stopped breathing for several minutes. He brought his hands over his face and felt beads of sweat running down his forehead and neck. Ion gazed around at his surroundings and at first didn't recognise where he was until he saw another figure sleeping on the opposite end of the room. His ruby gaze rested on them for a moment before he caught the person's bright red hair.

'Esther…'

Ion swung his legs off the bed and sat up while gazing at the ground. What had happened earlier? Did he black out from the impact of the door? Bringing a hand to his face, Ion felt over it, wanting to check for any bruises or cuts. As far as he was aware, he seemed fine, physically anyway. But what was with that dream? Ion pondered over it for a moment, trying to remember as much as he could but like all dreams, a lot of details are hard to remember vividly. But now that he thought about it, that vision just now didn't seem like a dream. He felt as though someone was trying to invade his mind.

Getting up from the bed, Ion wandered over to the window and stared out at the night sky. He stayed that way for a while, doing nothing but staring out at the stars. It helped ease his mind from the million questions that had risen from that dream, and allowed him to just be content that nothing bad had happened. He had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time this would happen. When it does, he hoped to be better prepared.

He couldn't help but turn his gaze back to Esther as he watched her sleep peacefully. He noticed that she let him sleep in the bed she claimed was her own earlier. It wouldn't have bothered him if he was supposed to sleep in the bed she was in now but since they argued over it, he guessed she didn't want to make a fuss over it anymore. Or it could have been Abel that put him down on this bed by mistake and she didn't want to make him move Ion to the other bed. Either way, she could have this bed tomorrow if she still wanted to.

'Heh, are you listening to yourself Ion, since when are you so generous to Terrans?' Ion shook his head as he felt his stomach rumble just then. He realised he had missed lunch earlier today but judging by how quiet it was, not to mention how dark it was outside, he had missed dinner as well. Moving to the end of his bed, he noticed Esther's spare dress there for him and figured he could change while he went to get some food. The kitchen shouldn't be too hard to find. But even if it was, this would be the perfect time to explore and get a bearing on his surroundings. He would be able to focus better too after getting a good amount of sleep.

Walking towards the door, Ion made sure to listen out for anyone who may still be up. He didn't want to be caught wandering around the building at night when it was only his first day here. He waited for a moment, hearing nothing but the soft breathing of the other occupants in the surrounding rooms. He opened the door slowly, hoping it wouldn't creak but when no sound came, he slowly slipped out of the room and closed the door after himself.

Unknown to him however, someone was actually awake and it was someone he should have been watching more closely.

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**Author's Note:** Hi hi all! Sorry for the delay! I've been a bit stuck with what to do for the chapter but I finally got it done in the end. Yays for me:P Hope you all enjoyed it, I had fun writing it. But now I need to think about what to do for the next chapter haha. And god, I have no idea what to do yet. But it will come to me! Don't worry! Thanks again for reading. Reviews are always welcome. It helps give me more inspiration XD Take care all, and I'll see you on the next chapter (hopefully) 


	4. Chapter 04 My Ever Beating Heart

**My Saviour **

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. I do however love them dearly as they are all so cool and awesome XD Ion being my favourite character of all! (sighs lovingly) The moment he came into the show, I fell in love with Trinity Blood more and more. Actually, he is what MADE me love Trinity Blood so much! Abel is still very cool though, there is no mistaking that :P but the anime didn't flesh him out as much as I would have liked, which was disappointing… You really got to watch Ion grow from the moment he entered the series to when Esther and Abel left the Empire. He really moved me, I cried for him numerous times with the bad things that happened to him. Especially that part in the dungeon… Oh god… (sniffs) … (pauses) Um, why am I writing this in a disclaimer :-/ (Forgive me!)

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Chapter 04 – _My Ever Beating Heart_

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After leaving the room, Ion began roaming the halls as quietly as possible. He figured the best way to learn about his surroundings would be to start in the area he'd be most vulnerable in. That was the dormitory. He could hear the soft breathing sounds of each occupant as he passed the rooms before him; he counted two breathing patterns in each so that meant everyone had a room mate. It disappointed him as he hoped there would be a spare room he could use when he needed to be alone. But it seems this was yet another obstacle he'd have to overcome.

'Everything has gone from bad to worse,' Ion thought to himself as he continued walking with Esther's spare dress over his right shoulder, 'Nothing has been working out at all today.' And it was true. His first plan was to check out the city. That failed no thanks to Abel. His good impression plan was failed by him as well, but luckily he hadn't met anyone of importance as yet. His other plan was to explore the Vatican for most of the day, as he expected he'd have no free time tomorrow. But did that happen? No, it didn't. And why was that?

Ion sighed to himself; so far the silver haired priest had brought him nothing but bad luck and misery. It would be such a treat to not see him for at least half a day. AT LEAST half. But he was at fault too. If Ion was more alert, as he usually was, he wouldn't have been caught with food all over his outfit or a door to the face. He hadn't been training his senses and reflexes all these years for nothing. But he still blamed all this on his disguise. It was his excuse, which he considered a valid one.

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Ion kept walking, allowing instinct to guide him wherever it thought best. He hoped to find his way back by remembering which way he walked. He didn't know how long he'd be out and about, but if a situation comes where he'd need to get to his room fast, he hoped he'd make it without any problems. He eventually came across a room which looked to fit hundreds of people inside. It shocked him, as he was used to seeing such things in Sarai Castle, the Empress' castle back at the Empire.

It was dark so he couldn't make out a lot of details but he came across many long tables with chairs positioned under neath them. He stopped in one area of the room and took a deep breath. It was faint, but he could still smell the food which had lingered in this room since dinner time. It meant he was in a dining area. But as he took in a breath, he smelt another scent which didn't mix with whatever dinner was. Taking another breath, Ion's head turned right as though he had tracked the scent then looked down and realised Esther's dress on his shoulder. He forgot he had taken this with him to change while he tried finding the kitchen.

Taking it off his shoulder, Ion looked at it for a moment before bring it closer to his face. He breathed in the scent from her dress and detected a faint flowery, strawberry smell. His gaze softened as he rested his face against the soft material, allowing himself to breathe in more of her essence. He felt as though he was in a trance, like her perfume had put him under her spell. It got him thinking about her again which he noticed is becoming a regular habit. But why was that? He hardly knew her, she meant nothing to him. She was simply another Terran who happened to be sharing the same room as him. But as her smile made its way into his mind, Ion couldn't bare to dismiss such a pleasant thought.

It was then that he suddenly heard the click of the door closing within the room. Ion had kept that door open when he entered, and there was no breeze in this room which would blow the door shut. Ion slowly removed his face from Esther's dress and closed his eyes for a moment. He stood perfectly still and sharpened his hearing around the room. It was faint but he could hear someone's footsteps somewhere around the room. They were very quiet, almost deadly silent. If it weren't for the room being completely deserted and free of sound, they would have been hard to detect. A Terran may not hear them, even with the room as silent as it was. But in Ion's case, he was a Methuselah. And being a Methuselah meant he was going to take this guy down.

"Thank you for coming tonight," he heard the masculine voice say, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long." The heard the man approaching him from behind while Ion remained where he stood, keeping his eyes closed in the process. The moment he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, Ion took the hand and suddenly pulled the guy over his head, throwing him into a wall in the process.

He watched as the man hit the wall with such force that he heard him gasp in pain as he fell to the ground. It was dark so he couldn't see where he had landed but he knew where he threw him. As Ion approached the spot he had thrown the guy, he noticed he wasn't there anymore. Being caught off guard by this, Ion's ears caught the sound of something flying through air towards him. He dived out of the way and looked back as he tried seeing what it was. He saw nothing. What was he dealing with here?

It was then that he heard more sounds of something flying towards him as he flipped backwards, avoiding more of this invisible weapon which was targeting him. He continued his intricate flips as he kept hearing the weapon hit the wall just inches away from him as though chasing him across the room. Once Ion got to his feet, Ion started running towards a different wall and noticed something shine before his eyes. While he could see it faintly, he heard it coming like a whip being flung towards him. Before it could make contact, Ion somersaulted in the air and landed with his feet and hands firmly on the wall.

He was only like this for a moment before he rebounded off the wall like it was a trampoline. He flew through the air for a moment with his back facing the ground and his head tilted back so he could see where he was going. He saw the shadows around the end of the room move slightly which meant that was where his attacker was. This time, as Ion saw the invisible weapon flying towards him, the Methuselah unsheathed one of his hidden daggers which he had in his inside his sleeve and twirled his body through the air as he started slashing at the man's weapon. He could see now that it was wire; it explained why he couldn't see it. Especially in a dark room like this, it would be hard to trace. The only thing bringing any light into the room was the windows on the far side of the room which allowed a little moonlight to shine in. It was cloudy though which explained why at time Ion could see nothing but in this case he could. It all depended on the clouds clearing away from the moon.

Ion was descending to the ground now. He continued fighting off the wire as best as he could but there seemed to be no end to it. Just how much wire did this man possess? How was he controlling it so effectively? He must have had the room set up for his arrival; it would explain how he was being swamped with wires in every direction he looked.

Once his body made impact with the ground, Ion rolled as quickly as he could towards a nearby table. Chairs were blocking his path but as he collided into them, the impact made the chairs fall backwards as they blocked the wire from reaching him upon their fall. Now that he was under a table, Ion was puffing a little from the adrenaline build up since the battle began. He looked around, trying to see if he could locate the man but found he was no where in sight. It was hard to guess his location anyway because of the darkness. Ion guessed his attacker knew that as well, and since he saw him roll under the table, that left him with an advantage to strike first.

Ion had to get out from under the table but knew that would leave him wide open. His attacker would be able to see his movements so no matter what he planned, it would prove useless. As he tried thinking of a strategy, Ion was shocked when he suddenly felt wire wrap around his leg. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot the man could still attack him underneath the table. The blonde felt himself dragged across the floor and pulled up towards the ceiling in one swift movement.

As he dangled from the air, Ion started leaning forward so he could reach the wire with his dagger. He was about to cut it but felt another strip of wire wrap around his wrist. The man gave a hard yank which caused Ion to wince in pain. It resulted in him dropping his weapon, leaving him now defenceless.

Ion was very annoyed; he couldn't believe he allowed himself to be caught so easily. In a case like this where he had the disadvantage, it would have been better for him to leave the room and perhaps draw the guy to an area where there was more light. If he couldn't leave the room, he should have at least kept on the move as stopping for one brief moment led to his downfall. This will be something to keep in mind next time they fought, that is, if he survived.

"Nice legs," the masculine voice said as he revealed himself from the shadows. As Ion looked at him, though upside down, he could see his features more clearly now that he was standing before him. The man had short brown hair and sharp brown eyes. He wore the same black and white uniform which Abel wore, which meant he was part of AX. He wasn't as tall as Abel but he still towered over Ion when it came to height.

At first his comment took a moment for Ion to register, but as he looked over himself, his eyes widened when he noticed the flaps of his dress were hanging over him, leaving his legs open for any to see. With his free hand, he quickly tucked the flaps of his dress in between his legs so he wasn't left fully exposed. The action made the young AX member laugh but Ion was not impressed.

"What the hell do you want with me?" Ion said as he glared at the man before him.

The man didn't listen; instead he looked to be examining him. Ion just raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat uncomfortable by his lingering eyes.

"You have good reflexes," the man said after a moment, "I must say; I'm very impressed."

"I said, what do you WANT with me!?" Ion raised his voice angrily while the man stared back at him smiling. While his smile looked harmless and somewhat charming, his eyes told a completely different story. He had such a sinister look about him, yet that smile made it hard to judge what he was thinking.

"What would you like me to do?" The man walked up to him and stared down into his eyes, "You are very cute. We should do this again sometime." Ion's anger was flaring all the more at his ridiculous remarks. He didn't know if he was doing it on purpose but if he was, he was certainly succeeding. But noticing how close the man was now, it was Ion's turn to take the initiative.

Taking the AX agent off guard, Ion swung forward and grabbed him by the neck with his free hand. He held onto him tightly while he used his wired hand to grab onto the man's wrist. It was the one which held his right hand captive. With both of his hands now occupied, Ion couldn't make an attempt to cut the wires but at least this man before him can't use his weapons either. That is, unless he was stupid enough to try. The young AX agent merely grinned with amusement, seeing Ion's feeble attempts to take control of the situation useless.

"What do you plan to do? You do realise that wire is tied to your leg and wrist right? I can still slice your limbs off without so much as trying." The man raised his free hand which revealed several other wires around his finger tips. To show he wasn't lying, the man pulled his hand back slightly which caused the wire around Ion's leg and wrist to tighten.

Ion recognised the threat but he didn't take it to heart. Instead, Ion simply smiled back with that same type of grin this man liked to use and said, "Yes that would be quite a loss. However I'd much prefer to lose my leg and hand than lose my head." The man almost wanted to laugh when he heard Ion say that; he knew he wasn't armed so it was a ridiculous bluff. But his thoughts were silenced when he felt something sharp against his skin.

Ion had another dagger hidden in his left sleeve much like the one he used earlier in his right. He held it against the man's neck, showing he wasn't bluffing with his earlier words. Ion had other daggers hidden around his body which were ready for use at any given moment. He would be stupid not to arm himself in a world unknown to him. In cases like this, he never knew when he'd encounter someone who wanted to take his life. If they were going to try, he wasn't going to make it easy for them.

They both stared at each other at then, both waiting and watching to see what would happen next. Ion held the upper hand in this case, but he hoped deep down that he wouldn't lose a limb over it. He had to think of some way to get out of this mess, but at the same time, he wanted to know how this man knew about his mission. How did he know he was an impostor? How did he know he'd be here tonight?

Just then, the doorway leading to the kitchen suddenly opened as Abel, walking with a large tray of made up sandwiches walked out looking content and happy. He was half way through eating one sandwich when his gaze suddenly rested on Ion and fellow AX member. The scene before him shocked Abel so much that he dropped the tray of sandwiches he was holding. The sound brought Ion and the man out of their glaring contest as they turned and looked towards the silver haired priest.

"Miss Erin! Dietrich! What's going on here!?" Abel shouted in both anger and confusion, "Stop whatever it is you are doing this instant!"

"Sure," the man named Dietrich said as he rubbed a hand through his fine brown hair. This action caused the wires around Ion's leg and wrist to unravel which in turn made him fall from the ceiling and onto the ground. The blonde winced a bit from the fall and glared at Dietrich for those uncalled for actions. Ion went to reach for the wire around his leg noticed it wasn't there anymore. The one around his wrist had disappeared as well. In fact, all the wires which he had encountered during their battle had vanished. He looked around but there was no trace of them anywhere. How did he get rid of them so easily, and so quickly?

Dietrich looked to Abel apologetically and bowed his head slightly, "Forgive me Father Nightroad. There was a misunderstanding. I thought this young lady was an intruder. With it being so dark in this room, it was hard to tell who I had encountered." He looked down at Ion who was still on the ground and smiled at him, "She had such great skills; I really thought I was in trouble." Ion turned his head away, not buying his pathetic excuse. Dietrich was a skilled fighter, Ion could tell just from their brief battle with each other. But he wouldn't mistake his opponent so easily with those types of moves. He had meant to do something to him; whether it was to capture or kill him he wasn't sure. But Ion was determined to find out.

Abel walked up to the young blonde and kneeled down beside him. He looked over his face and form, just to make sure he hadn't been hurt before turning his gaze back to Dietrich, "Please be more careful in future. You could have really hurt Miss Erin." Abel helped him to his feet and kept the blonde by his side with concern.

Dietrich continued smiling and simply nodded, "Yes, I'll be extra careful next time." Looking to Ion, Dietrich bowed his head to him in apology before walking towards the exit of the dinning room. He walked through the double doors and closed them after himself. When he did, Dietrich couldn't help but let out a little chuckle, 'This was certainly a surprise,' he thought to himself, 'Not who I was expecting but this may prove useful.' As he turned and walked down the hallway, he came across a one path which led to another area of the Vatican to his left, but Dietrich kept walking straight down the corridor he was already in.

When he was a little distance away, someone from that other path revealed themselves from the shadows. Their bright sapphire eyes watched as Dietrich continued walking away without noticing them. The person watched with sadness and longing as Dietrich disappeared into the darkness. As they did, the person slowly brought their hand over their cross and clutched onto it tightly. They stayed that way for a moment, as though praying but jumped as they heard the doors to the dining room open. Not wanting to be caught, the person disappeared back into the darkness, allowing only a glimpse of their bright red hair to sparkle against the moon's rays shining through a window nearby.

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Ion slept restlessly for the rest of that night. He couldn't help but feel Dietrich may come to finish the job he started. He didn't seem like the type to attack someone in their sleep but he wasn't certain if he'd send someone else to do the dirty work. Opening his eyes slightly, Ion stared up at the ceiling for a while, not thinking of anything in particular. His gaze turned towards the window and noticed the sky turning to a purplish grey colour. The stars were disappearing from the sky which meant the sun was going to rise soon.

Seeing as he'd have to get out of bed soon, Ion figured he'd get an early start and get himself ready for whatever this day would bring. He sat up in bed and turned his gaze to Esther's bed, checking to see if she was still asleep. He noticed the bed was made, as if no one had slept in it at all. She must have gotten up early herself. This was good, that meant he had privacy, at least for the moment.

Getting himself out of bed, Ion walked over to his suitcase and started going through his things. Everything looked to be in order which was a relief. He didn't think Esther would go snooping through his belongings but you never know, he didn't know her that well. He took one of his sun resistance pills and figured he'd start his daily workout. Taking the wig off his head, Ion tossed it onto the bed, along with the shirt he was wearing, leaving him in nothing but the shorts he slept in last night. He started himself off by stretching his arms and legs then the rest of his body, making sure to do it properly as he didn't want to risk injury. When he was prepared, Ion took a deep breath and closed his eyes before slowly moving his arms out from his body and bringing them across his chest with his palms facing each other but not touching.

He stood like this for a moment as though in meditation. He stood completely still while his breathing slowed to less frequent but deeper breaths. Building up his inner strength; allowing his mind to focus on nothing but himself and his movements, Ion's eyes flashed open as he began executing various fighting techniques. He had been trained in various martial arts and practised every day on the moves he had mastered, trying to execute moves just that little bit faster and apply more impact in them as if his life depended on it. For Terrans, he'd be moving with such speed that you would only see a blur of him as if he were a mirage in the desert. He used every part of his body, particularly his arms and legs. His movements flowed with such technique and grace that you'd think he was dancing.

This went on for some time, usually a couple of hours from what Ion estimated from his other workouts. By the time he slowed his movements down and finally stopped, Ion was puffing heavily while beads of sweat ran down his forehead, chest and back. From the hard workout, Ion's muscles were bulging a bit from his upper arms; even his chest and back were looking more defined compared to how they usually were when settled. Ion looked a lot manlier after his workouts. His frail look may deceive many but he could take on the toughest of opponents which were twice his height and build and over power them. But this was something he had to hide, especially since he was playing the part of a girl for the time being. As Ion gazed out at the window, he noticed the sky was starting to become much clearer than the last time he looked out. There were only a couple of stars left in the sky now while the suns rays were turning the sky to a pink purplish colour. He'd better see about getting a shower before anyone else woke up.

As he walked over to his bed, Ion picked up the blonde wig and placed it back on his head firmly, making sure it was sitting properly. He looked down at his shirt for a moment and was about to reach for it when he noticed something else. A white bathrobe and towel were folded and placed at the end of his bed where Esther had kept her spare dress for him. But now that he thought about it, where did his dress go? He changed out of it last night when he got back in the room and left it next to Esther's dress, he had brought hers back with him after his battle but figured changing into it then would be pointless. Hers was still here but his was definitely gone.

'Damnit, this wouldn't have anything to do with Dietrich would it?' Ion's rage started to build again from the humiliation he felt last night. He had a score to settle with that guy, and he was going to love looking down at him when HE was on the ground in defeat.

His shower could wait, right now; he needed to find that dress. It was an important item which was handed to him by the Empress. He needed it if he was going to survive in this Terran world, especially if it was in broad daylight. He quickly grabbed his shirt and pulled it over himself as he approached the door. Once he was out, Ion raced down the corridor and hoped he could find the guy before he did anything to it. He reached a corner and just before he could get around it, Ion felt him self collide into something which gave out a loud 'yelp' before he fell forward and landed on top of them.

Ion raised a hand to his head and rubbed it a bit, he felt like someone threw a door at his face again like Abel did yesterday. Once he looked down at what lay before him, Ion stiffened with shock as he noticed it was Esther. She was staring back at him with the same look of surprise without moving a muscle. Ion noticed they were in an awkward position. He had his left hand by the right side of her face, his right knee was propped between her legs and his left knee was sitting on the outer side of her right leg. Ion was so shocked he could barely move. He knew he needed to get off of her but at the same time, he couldn't believe they were positioned like this.

"A-Are you okay?" Esther asked, stuttering a little as her cheeks were a little pink with embarrassment, "Y-You're not hurt?"

"U-Um, no," Ion answered, barely finding the nerve to speak, "A-Are you?"

"N-No," Esther replied as she cleared her throat a little, "Well, time to get up." Ion wished she hadn't done that. The moment she started sitting up, Ion hadn't moved so once she did this, her face was so close to his that their noses were almost touching. Both of their eyes widened while their faces went bright red. Ion felt as though his heart was going to jump out of his chest from how quickly it was beating. Staring into her deep blue eyes, Ion realised if he leaned forward just slightly, he would be able to…

"Hmm, what do we have here?" A feminine voice spoke which made Ion and Esther jump. He turned his gaze upwards and noticed a woman with black wavy hair and dark eyes staring down at him sweetly. She wore an outfit which was similar to the outfit he and Esther wore but the colours were reversed. While theirs was majority blue with a bit of white, hers was white with a little bit of blue. This outfit was worn by women who were full fledged nuns, or in her case, it could also be worn by female AX agents.

"You two look to be getting a little cosy," she commented as she smirked, "A bit early in the morning for this isn't it?"

This comment got Ion to his feet instantly. He couldn't believe what had just happened. The last thing going through his mind right now was getting intimate with Esther but judging from that scene this woman just witnessed, it looked to be exactly that. He was so annoyed with himself but at the same time, he wished that moment hadn't ended so soon. That part of him got him all the more annoyed with him self.

He looked down at Esther, noticing her still on the ground but as he went to help her up, that dark haired woman was still standing there with a big grin on her face, as though amused. She was really putting Ion on the spot; he felt so self conscious right now that he felt any wrong move could reveal his gender to her. Instead, he turned his back on them and said, "I'm going back to my room. What happened earlier was an accident." He couldn't help but run away from them then, not certain how else to react. He needed to be alone for the moment; he needed to sort out his feelings.

'Why is my heart beating so fast?'

"Aww, the poor thing must be very embarrassed hehe. But it was very cute," the dark haired woman helped Esther to her feet and dusted her clothes off, "You okay?"

"I-I'm fine. Thank you Sister Bor," Esther replied.

"Just call me Noelle," the AX member smiled as she giggled a bit, "Was that your new room mate?"

"Um, yes, her name is Erin. I was going to let her know that I washed her uniform and that it's drying outside but on my way to our room, she suddenly collided into me and this happened." Esther looked down at the ground, feeling a little guilty, "I didn't mean to embarrass her like that. It embarrassed me too as…"

"As…?" Noelle asked, urging her to continue.

Esther couldn't help but blush again as she raised her hand to the side of her face, "For a moment, I thought I had run into a man…"

Noelle just smiled, sensing the mix of emotions swirling through Esther's heart at this moment. She looked down the corridor, where she had watched Ion run off and pondered on the emotions she felt swirl through him as well. One of her abilities allowed her to look inside of someone and tell how they were feeling, enabling her to read someone like a book. She wasn't a mind reader but emotions told a lot about someone, even if she hardly knew them. In Ion's case, he was in the same dilemma as Esther where he didn't seem to understand what he was feeling but at the same time, there were other feelings clouding his judgement. They have a connection, but it was up to them to see it through.

'It will be interesting to see how it turns out,' Noelle thought to herself as she patted Esther over the shoulder. Getting the red haired girl's attention, Noelle said, "Well, you better go see if she is okay. I need to wake everyone up."

"Yes, you're right," Esther smiled slightly and bowed her head before following the corridor Ion had run down earlier. She tried looking calm, as if that earlier scene didn't faze her but her face was still a little pink. She still felt that earlier nervousness when her face was very close to his and as a result, it was causing her heart to beat rapidly.

'Why is my heart beating so fast?'

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**Author's Note**: Wow, this chapter was evil. I can't believe how many times I had to re-write it lol. I was so stuck on what to do; I can't believe I'm already having writer's block so early in the story hehe. I think this went okay though, it passes my books at least :-) I'm trying to balance things so that each chapter moves on with story but also allows development between Ion and Esther. Am I perhaps moving too fast? Hmm… Nah XP Anyway, thank you very much for reading. Thanks to all of those who have reviewed as well, it gives me so much support :-D See you in the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 05 How I Loathe You

**My Saviour **

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. However I would like to own some merchandise besides the series. Like art books or figurines XD But I haven't found either as yet (pouts)

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Chapter 05 – _How I Loathe You_

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Standing in queue at the cafeteria, Ion stood behind Esther as they waited for their turn to get food. The line was quite long, but a good thing was that they were never standing in the one spot for long. Up ahead, Ion could see a few cooks standing in wait for each person they had to serve. There were a lot to get through but they had enough staff to handle it which was nice to know.

Even though Ion had been given a brief overview of the way the Vatican operated, he wasn't completely sure of the daily routine of their apprentices. Esther was kind enough to offer help to him whenever he needed it, but he couldn't help feeling it was a burden. He preferred being independent and liked knowing what was going on around him. He didn't want to keep asking Esther a million questions whenever something new came up. Still, he was in an unknown world, he has gone through one day; he couldn't expect to know everything right a way.

"Classes usually start at eight thirty in the morning," Esther started, "The cafeteria usually opens from six in the morning to nine for breakfast. Eleven to two in the afternoon is lunch and dinner is from five to eight at night. If you need food between the times they aren't open, you'd need to make something up yourself. But there are times when they make too much and have food left over. So I guess it depends either way if you feel like cooking or not." Esther smiled cheekily while Ion simply nodded. He noticed the cafeteria had their hours printed on big boards on the walls but it was nice to be informed. The hours she mentioned applied from Monday to Friday. The hours were cut in half during the weekends.

"Can you cook Erin?" Esther asked out of curiosity as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"No, I can't," Ion answered. He never had a reason to learn as his servants cooked just fine at home. His grandmother cooked from time to time as well, and whenever she did, she always made a serving for him, even if he hadn't requested it. Because of this, learning how to cook seemed pointless to him.

"Oh?" Esther couldn't help but giggle, "What will happen when you get married?"

Ion was puzzled by that, "Excuse me?"

"You know, when you get married, usually it's up to the wife to cook for the family, especially when you end up having kids. But even without a family and partner, learning to cook is an essential part of life." Ion wanted to laugh at that last comment but he restrained himself. If she knew his status at the Empire, she'd understand why he didn't need to learn how to cook.

"Would you like to learn?"

"No, I'll be fine thank you."

"What's the matter? Too complicated for you?" Esther smirked while Ion just glared. "I don't mind teaching you when we have sometime. It'll be fun, I promise!" Ion couldn't see how they would have the time for it. Any free time he could spare was going to be put towards his mission. Cooking was not going to benefit him in any way; it was only going to get in the way.

"I said I'll be fine," Ion repeated with a hint of frustration.

"Oh come on, it's not that hard. Well, actually it can be but we can start with the easier meals."

"I said no."

Esther sighed, "I can just picture it now. Your loving partner and three adorable children are sitting around a dining table, eagerly awaiting their gorgeous mum with a delicious meal. And to their dismay, they find themselves greeted by a great big serving of burnt black food. I'm sure they'll get all of their daily nutrients from charcoal meals." If she was trying to be funny, Ion certainly wasn't laughing, and what was with her picturing his future of all things? She made him sound horrible. If he did have a family, he'd make sure they were happy and taken care of properly, that meant being served decent meals. Sure he couldn't cook, but he'd be providing in other ways.

"You aren't going to let me say no are you?"

Esther shrugged, "I could, but then I'd feel sorry for your future family."

". . . . If we get time, and I'm not busy, and can be bothered, I 'may' consider it," Ion answered with a sigh of defeat, making sure to emphasize 'may'. He knew he wouldn't get the time, there was no way he could but he needed to get Esther off his case somehow. He did try rejecting her offer many times so what was he supposed to do? Then it dawned on him. "Wait, why do you care so much about my future family?" Ion asked out of curiosity.

"It's not so much about your family; it's just the future in general. Don't you wonder what life will be like in ten years from now?"

Ion found it hard to imagine, "I just take things as they come. You never know what could happen." Especially with the Empress' wishes in wanting to merge the Methuselah with Terrans, life was definitely going to be unpredictable. There would be so many changes to the way each race would be living. Co-existence was going to be a difficult thing to maintain, and that was 'IF' they could be brought together successfully. If there were war, life ten years from now may not even come for some people, even himself and Esther. He would have to fight for his people while Esther, being an apprentice AX member would someday become full fledged and fight against him. What would happen if it came to that? He didn't want to picture it, it was better to leave things unknown.

"I know that," Esther nodded, "But I'd like to hope for certain things to happen, like having a family someday."

Ion stared at her, "So, what you said before about 'a loving partner and three adorable children' is what you wish for?"

The red haired girl nodded and smiled lovingly, "I'm sure every girl dreams for the same thing. Don't you Erin?"

The thought actually scared him. Mirka, his grandmother had, on several occasions, tried to set him up with other girls from the Empire. She would never admit it, but it was plainly obvious when she would set him up to escort women to certain functions or accompany them over tea. These women were literally dumped on him with no opportunity to decline when Mirka had already set them up. It was a nuisance, especially when he had other things planned but none the less, he would carry out his grandmother's wishes like the gentleman he was. Of course, when Mirka would notice he never made an effort to see that girl again, than that meant she failed, again. She obviously wanted him to find someone, but has fortunately never mentioned it verbally, which was good as he wanted to stay clear of the subject. Like the future, love was also something he couldn't predict but it was something he hoped to gain, someday.

As for Esther's question, Ion shrugged, "I suppose..." If it was normal for every girl to dream such things then he might as well go with it.

"Have you got someone special yet?"

'And that's your business why?' Ion voiced in his head but said aloud, "No."

"Well, do you like anyone?"

There was a slight pause before Ion's eyes drifted towards her own. He was going to say no again, but he found he couldn't. Esther continued staring back at him, as though searching his eyes for the answer but Ion turned away before she could search too deeply. His heart felt strange, he felt it weighing heavily in his chest as though the question was really affecting him. Why was that he wondered?

Esther decided to let it go, seeing as Ion looked a bit uncomfortable about sharing this information, "I'm sorry, I guess that was a bit too personal. Forgive me Erin."

When Esther turned back to the queue, Ion's heart began to beat wildly. Since they were on the topic of crushes, Ion suddenly felt the need to know Esther's. He wanted to ask but he was worried about her answer. Butterflies were dancing around in his stomach as a result. But why was he so eager to know? The suspense was killing him yet he had no nerve to ask and get it out of the way. Really, how pathetic could one yet? You'd think he could take on anything after cross dressing but obviously not.

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"Miss Esther! Miss Erin!" Abel called out cheerfully as he jogged towards them. The two AX apprentices were sitting at one of the various cafeteria tables eating breakfast. Esther looked to the silver haired priest and smiled, waving back at him happily. Ion shuddered when he heard his voice and couldn't help but cover his food with his arms, as though shielding it. He was not going to be caught in another incident like what happened at the Methuselah inn.

"Good morning you two, did you sleep well?" Abel asked as he flashed them a bright smile.

"Yes thank you," Esther replied, "And yourself Father Nightroad?"

"Yes it was pleasant. I dreamt I was at a fancy restaurant where I got to eat whatever I wanted! It was magical; I didn't want to get up!" Esther couldn't help but giggle while Abel turned his attention to Ion, "How was your night Miss Erin?"

Ion turned his gaze towards the priest's and stared at him for a moment before replying, "It was fine."

"Sleep well?"

"Yes, no problems here." Ion was getting the feeling Abel wanted to check up on him from the incident last night. When Dietrich had left them, Abel double checked to make sure Ion was alright but also scolded him for getting into a fight. In the end, he was willing to let the Methuselah go, provided he hand over the weapon he used against the younger AX member.

FLASHBACK

"Erin, I saw you with a dagger. Where is it now?" Abel asked patiently.

"I have no dagger," Ion explained, "I was in a situation where I wanted to use anything I could to defend myself. If there was a dagger, it must have belonged to that bas-... priest." Ion corrected himself as he coughed a bit. Yes he was lying, again, which was no surprise to him anymore. He couldn't afford to hand over one of his weapons, especially not after what happened last night.

"I can't have you walking around the Vatican with something like that," Abel explained, "You could have caused serious injury to Dietrich if you weren't careful."

Those last words struck a nerve big time. Ion turned his fiery red gaze to Abel and glared angrily as he shouted, "How would you have expected me to react? Simply stand still and let him strike me!? You weren't there! His intention was to kill me!"

It was now Abel's turn to glare, "He was merely holding you back. Dietrich is a skilled AX member and would never cause harm to the innocent, like all of us. You caught him off guard but he restrained you without hurting you. But you on the other hand were two seconds away from slicing his throat! You were intending to kill him Erin." Abel stared him down as he held his hand out to the young Methuselah, "Now give me that weapon. I will not ask twice." Abel said this in such a tone that sent a cold chill down Ion's spine. His usual friendly, goofy personality had suddenly turned to a serious, commanding one. Abel was not playing around; the blonde could tell by the way his ice blue eyes stared coldly down into Ion's red ones. He seemed so certain that he was right, that Dietrich really was defending himself while Ion looked like the bad guy. But if he was here, Abel would be thinking differently.

Sighing with frustration, Ion decided to submit to Abel's request and said, "Alright, I'll hand it over." The blonde raised his hand slowly as he clenched his hand into a fist. As he released his hand in a slow fluid movement so Abel could watch, the Methuselah gave a flick of his wrist and caught the hilt of his dagger as it flew out from under his sleeve. He slowly raised it towards the priest so he could see it within his grasp.

"Are there any others?" Abel asked as Ion handed him the weapon.

"No, you are welcome to check me if you wish." Ion answered as he stared at Abel with unwavering eyes. Abel stared back, analysing to see if whether or not Ion was lying. But once he decided to take his word, Abel suddenly came out with a bright smile.

"Good! Then I shall give you something in return!" Abel held out Esther's spare dress which made Ion choke at the first sight of it. How did he get his hands on that? The last time Ion had it was... The blonde raised his hand to his shoulder and realised it wasn't there anymore. He must have dropped it when he was fighting Dietrich.

"I don't think changing here is the most suitable place," Abel explained as he handed Ion the article of clothing, "I'd recommend a more private facility. Perhaps ask Esther next time if you are unsure of where to go." After that little discussion, Abel dismissed Ion and said he should go back to his room. Abel needed to clean up his sandwiches which upset him as he really wanted to eat them.

Ion left without any complaints as he got his fair share of drama for one night. Once he was out of the room, Ion's ears caught the sound of someone else in the area. He looked around, wondering who it may have been but saw no one. The steps were faint but they were retreating from the area. Ion suspected it being Dietrich, but even if it was or wasn't, it was no matter to him right now.

Bringing his arm up before him, the blonde stared at it for a moment, remembering the dagger he had handed Abel. It was then that Ion clenched his hand together, holding it in place before releasing his fingers out. When he did this, he flicked his wrist in the same way he did with Abel and suddenly revealed another dagger from the same sleeve. The weapon looked exactly the same as the one he handed Abel only moments ago. The Methuselah brought the weapon closer to his face as he stared into the flawless blade, noticing the wing of an eagle etched into it. The hilt was dark green in colour and had a golden vine and leaves engraved into it.

It was an ancient weapon, one which was forged and hand-made by the best of Methuselah blacksmiths. It had been handed down to him from his grandmother, which in turn had been given to her centuries ago. With that thought in mind, Ion held the blade protectively in his grasp. There was no way he was giving up a family treasure such as this. The only way he'd give it up is if it was pried from the hand of his dead corpse.

Back in the dining room, where Abel had finished cleaning up his mess, he walked out from the kitchen and stared at the weapon he was given. He stopped in mid step when he noticed the object was merely a butter knife. He stared at it in confusion and turned it around several times to examine it properly. It was definitely a butter knife, yet he could have sworn Ion had handed him a dagger.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Erin, we need to head to our class soon. Are you almost done?" Esther asked as she finished the last bite of her food.

"Yes, I'm ready when you are," Ion said as he got up from his seat, picking up his plate and cutlery in the process.

"Oh! Before you go, I have something to hand Miss Erin!" Abel said as he reached into his robe pockets. Ion stood by him and waited patiently while Esther took her own plate and cutlery to the kitchen counter where dirty dishes were to be dropped off. Since there were so many residents here at the Vatican, it would be hard for the small amount of kitchen staff to run around and collect dirty dishes from every table while cooking and serving people at the same time. This was just to make things a little easier for everyone.

When she made it, Esther was about to put her plate down on the small pile of other dishes but found her plate knock against someone else's. "Oh! I'm so sorry I…" Esther turned to look at the visitor beside her and went speechless when she saw Dietrich standing beside her.

The young AX turned to look at her, giving her one of his ever-so-charming smiles, "Good morning Esther, did you sleep well?"

"Y-Yes, yes I did," Esther replied as she smiled somewhat nervously, "And yourself Father Von Lohengrin?" Dietrich reached for her plate and cutlery, wanting to put them away for her along with his. But as he took them from her, Esther stiffened as his warm gloved hands brushed against her own.

"Here it is!" Abel exclaimed excitedly, "I knew I had it on me somewhere!" It happened to be in chest pocket on his left, not the right where he was originally looking. Ion let out a little breath but nodded in response. Abel had in his hand a large yellow envelope which quirked Ion's interest at first but when he looked around to see where Esther disappeared off to, his heart leap to his throat as he saw her standing next to that god forsaken Dietrich.

Once Dietrich put their dishes away, he looked back at Esther and asked, "You know you can call me Dietrich when we are alone right?" When he smiled again, Esther felt she was going to melt on the spot, "Sorry, I guess with you being an AX member now, I feel I need to address you properly."

Ion's eyebrow twitched with annoyance as the grip on his plate tightened. With his hearing abilities, he could hear what they were saying and judging by how things were looking, this development between the two Terrans was not pleasing him at all. Meanwhile, Abel was trying to explain the contents of the yellow envelope but found he was getting no where as Ion's attention seemed to be else where. "Miss Erin?" Abel tried getting his attention as he snapped his fingers in Ion's face, "Please take a look at this. These are some documents which you will need for your classes."

"S-Sorry," Ion said as he looked back at Abel, trying not to get himself distracted. Once the priest started flipping through the papers, explaining their purposes, Ion couldn't help but glance occasionally back at Esther and Dietrich. What was he doing, standing so close to her like that? What was their relationship? Ion could feel the rage burning inside him and it was steadily rising with each passing second. He felt so compelled to march right over there and drag Esther away from that jerk or simply beat him to death but he couldn't do either while Abel was here. The blonde wanted to listen to him but he was too distracted by what Dietrich may do or say.

Dietrich gave a little chuckle at Esther's words, "I may be a full fledged AX member now, but I didn't think that would change the relationship we had." Esther's heart skipped a beat at his words and couldn't help but smile warm-heartedly, "Um, Dietrich, about last night…" Before she could say more, she felt herself shoved in the back as she collided into Dietrich's chest. The person behind her was one of the cleaners in the kitchen, "Oh, forgive me dearie! I thought I had enough room to carry these dishes past you but I guess I was wrong! Are you alright?" The middle-aged lady had grabbed some of the dirty dishes from the counter but had accidentally bumped Esther when carrying them.

Dietrich had his hands on Esther's shoulders to steady her as he looked to the kitchen lady, "She is fine. Forgive us; we were in your way." The young AX member stepped aside, giving the cleaner more room as he kept Esther close by. The red head was blushing quite a bit from embarrassment while Dietrich looked down at her smiling. "I guess this is our queue to head to class now, wouldn't you agree?" Before Esther could answer, Dietrich slowly leaned his head down to her as his lips rested by her ear. As he did this, he began to whisper, "It's alright, don't worry about last night. The main thing now is that I get to spend some time with you in our next class." He purred these words as his breath tickled at her ear, making Esther's heart race in response.

Before anything else could be said, there was suddenly a loud crack which made both Esther and Dietrich jump in response. Ion had walked up to the counter to put his plate down but 'accidentally' broke it. "Oops, sorry, I slipped," Ion replied as he apologised to another one of the kitchen workers who just grumbled in response but started cleaning up the mess.

"Are you okay Erin?" Esther asked as she approached him, "You didn't cut yourself or anything did you?"

Ion smiled, "I'm fine… Just fine." Although when he said this, his eyes couldn't conceal the rage which was swelling within him. He broke a plate, but he much preferred to break Dietrich's neck.

"You should be more careful," Dietrich cut in, "You could have risked injury to not only yourself but others around you."

"Don't worry, I'd never harm Esther," Ion replied as he smiled back sweetly, obviously implying that he wouldn't have cared if Dietrich got hurt by any sharp shards of crockery. Dietrich just smiled back, however he started giving Ion that same sinister glare he did last night.

"Oh, Erin, you haven't met Father Von Lohengrin yet have you? He's the youngest of the AX members and is our Tactics teacher. We'll be having him this morning for our first class," Esther explained, not noticing the tension between Ion and Dietrich growing.

'Tactics teacher?' Ion repeated in his head as he thought back on the incident last night. It made sense hearing that Dietrich was a tactics teacher as by the way that room was set up, it had been ready to ambush any who dared to enter. Ion had no chance to attack as the room was set up that way. Dietrich also had no problems moving about freely as though he new where every wire was set up. Even when Abel intervened, the young AX was able to dispose of all the wires as though nothing had happened. These classes may prove to be useful. Not only would Ion gain information about the tactics which the AX used on missions but it would help learning how Dietrich's mind worked.

"Father Von Lohengrin, it's nice to meet you. I'll be looking forward to your classes." Ion replied warm-heartedly as he stared at Dietrich with fire burning in his eyes.

Dietrich smiled with delight, "It will be a pleasure having you in my class Miss Erin. I'll be expecting great things from you." Even though they were both smiling, their eyes told a completely different story.

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**Author's Note:** Oh my god… I finished it. FINALLY! (celebrates) This chapter has been re-written like, four times. I thought I was never going to finish it! It's why my update took so long. So sorry for the delay. I hope no one has forgotten my story :-( Hope it was okay, I kept changing it because I was never satisfied. I'm okay with it now though, I think o.O But anyway lol, enough from me. I must get to bed as I'll only have a couple of hours sleep before work X.X I had to finish this, I was not going to go to sleep otherwise hehe. Thanks for reading! I promise the next chapter won't take this long!


	6. Chapter 06 More than Meets the Eye

**My Saviour **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. Although, if I got figurines of them, would that mean I did as I could hold them in my hands and say they were mine as I paid for them with my own money? Perhaps in my dreams I could claim them as my own? I still have yet to get Trinity Blood merchandise, must work on that...

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Chapter 06 – _More than Meets the Eye_

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"... And so," Dietrich concluded, "This would be the best course of action to take in this scenario. When the time comes, you might not be able tocarry out these actions exactly as detailed here." Dietrich pointed to the board with his pointing stick, "However, so long as you follow these examples as a guideline, youshould havea higher chance of success." The morning was almost over much to Ion's relief. Once this lesson ended, it would be lunch time, meaning Ion could finally get some time alone which he was dying for. Although at the rate this was going, he felt the last fifteen minutes of class were going to feel like an hour.

Ion was sitting in the back corner of the classroom with Esther sitting in a desk beside him. The Methuselah was getting very restless. The things being covered in this lesson were mere basics of strategy. He was surprised the AX apprentices were only this far into their studies as he remembered learning this in his early years of childhood. If these girls needed to be walked through each and every type of dangerous situation, no telling what type, then there would be serious problems. How could one really remember a50 step process to defend yourself against an incoming enemy who was about to either shoot you or stab you with a sharp weapon? If you had to remember what you read in your text book, you would already be dead. Ion let out a little yawn and stared at the front board in a daze. He was going to fall asleep at this rate.

Glancing around the room lazily, Ion noticed all the girls in class were quite young; their ages ranging from mid to late teens. It amused him somewhat; he could picture these girls lasting no longer than five minutes. It made him wonder why they didn't train any male students as they seemed to have more male AX members than female ones. He hadn't seen any male students since he got here. Perhaps they studied on a different floor or perhaps a completely different building? Not that it really mattered, he was still stuck here whether he liked it or not.

While Dietrich began to conclude his lecture, Ion overheard some girls in his class whispering to each other. They sat one row in front of him so it wasn't hard to hear what they were saying, not that it was any of his business but it wasn't like Dietrich was saying anything important, at least not to him.

"Isn't he the greatest?" One girl sighed lovingly as she stared at Dietrich dreamily.

"Oh definitely, he's so smart and handsome that it's hard to believe he doesn't have a girlfriend," the girl next to her commented softly, as to not disturb the class.

"I know lots of girls who like him, I think some have even confessed their feelings but he has turned every girl down."

"Can you blame him? He's an AX now, he may get judged if he starts dating a student."

"Even so, when I become an AX, I hope he'd consider having at least one date with me," the girl tried picturing it and when she did she swooned at the endless possibilities. Ion gagged at the thought.

"We're baking cookies in cooking class today; I think I might make Dietrich some as a gift. He's sure to notice me if I do that." The other girl thought.

"Ah good idea! Hope it goes well," her friend smiled with support.

"Hehe thanks."

Ion blinked at the backs of the two girls and sighed as he turned his gaze elsewhere. It wasn't hard to tell these girls wanted Dietrich for themselves and felt the other didn't deserve him. Even though they smiled and behaved like they really cared about the other's feelings, inside they were seething with rage, he could tell by the look in their eyes. 'I want him for myself.' 'He's not good enough for you.' Other thoughts such as these lingered on the surfaces of their minds but Ion didn't want to pry anymore as their minds were filled with their obsession over Dietrich.

Ion had learnt over the years how to read the minds of others. It was one of the various techniques he had learnt from one of his tutors back at the Empire. Telepathy was one of the more difficult abilities to master as it took a lot of concentration and it drained you of strength very quickly if you weren't careful. He had practiced this ability often, usually out of boredom and gained more confidence in each use. Ion made sure never to abuse such abilities and normally he wouldn't use it for the purposes he was now, which was to kill his boredom, but he couldn't help it. The Outer World was slowly driving him insane so he needed things such as this to amuse him.

When Ion glanced up at the clock to see how much time had passed, he nearly whined out loud when he found they still had ten minutes left. Why did time seem to go so much slower in the Outer World? Propping his elbow on the desk and resting his chin in his palm, Ion sighed softly with boredom, he needed something to pass his time besides listening to girls obsess over fox-eyed Dietrich.

While he thought about this, the blonde turned his attention to Esther for a moment, wondering what the young red-head might be doing. She was sitting to the right of him, simply minding her own business and keeping to herself. She looked to be writing notes from Dietrich's lecture while glancing at the board every now and then to see what new information he may write up. His gaze lingered on her for a while, as though fascinated by every movement she made. He decided out of mere curiosity that he'd skim the surface of her mind; just to learn a little more about her as he had no nerve to ask her himself. He for one wanted to know more about her relationship with Dietrich; it had been gnawing at his mind all morning.

Ion took in a deep breath and focused, wanting to prepare himself for whatever he may found out. He touched her mind softly as to not alarm her, usually humans never noticed if their minds were being read or not but Ion didn't want to take any chances. While he skimmed over the surface of her mind, Ion was surprised by the amount of memories she had of Dietrich. It wasn't like those two girls in front of him who obsessed over him like some movie star; Esther seemed to have different reasons for liking Dietrich. Judging by the amount of memories she had of him, Ion could only guess she had known him for several years. She had memories dating back to her childhood which involved him. The first memory he came across was from this morning in the cafeteria. Watching the memory of the earlier conversation with Dietrich, Ion started to feel what Esther had felt as she spoke to him. He felt her happiness, the way she lit up as she talked to him as though the mere sight of him could cure any bad day she'd have.

Ion felt a tinge of jealousy at that; he knew he shouldn't have left her to talk to him alone. He was certain he could make her a lot happier than Dietrich could, 'Wait, where did that come from?' Ion mentally shook his head and pushed all those thoughts and emotions away. He was just here to look, nothing more, nothing less. He couldn't get upset with Esther when he was the one invading her mind and learning her secrets. If she loved Dietrich then fine, that was her own business, not his. Yet why did he feel daggers stab his heart every time he came across yet another memory of Dietrich as he searched her mind?

He didn't look at any specific memories besides the one from this morning in the cafeteria but as Ion came across so many Dietrich related memories, his curiosity was starting to get the better of him. He wanted to know how they met, what their relationship had been like, find out how they got along and why Esther liked him so much.

Before Ion could start on her earliest memory of him, Ion's mind scan was suddenly brought to a halt when he was forced to stop by some type of invisible wall. Ion was surprised; he didn't think Esther would know how to set up mind barriers. He only knew of Methuselah or Vampires with this type of power. That being said, barriers could come naturally if that certain person had psychic abilities or trained themselves to use it for that type of purpose, which included Terrans. It would seem Esther had some degree of power in her, it would explain his little encounter with her in his bedroom mirror that day. But if she was blocking her memories from him, that would mean she was aware of Ion probing her mind.

'_Erin..._' A soft voice called out to him.

'Huh?' Ion was startled; he hadn't expected Esther to suddenly start communicating with him telepathically.

'_Erin..._' The voice called again, this time more clearly.

'Esther?' Ion questioned as he looked around. Her mind suddenly went black as though her whole mind just shut down. Ion was left on his own with nothing but darkness surrounding him. He looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of something but all he saw was darkness, it went on and on as far as the eye could see. What happened? A mind can't just shut down like this unless the person was unconscious or even dead. Did something happen to her? Did he do something? Why couldn't he get out of her mind? It was as though he was stuck. This was just like last night when someone was trying to find out his real name. Ion started to panic; he hadn't meant to harm Esther in any way shape or form but at the same time, he had no idea how he would have caused it as he knew he hadn't done anything intentional or even accidental.

'_I'm fine, no harm has come to me_,' the voice reassured him as though reading his thoughts, '_What are you doing in here__ though__? It's not nice to pry into someone's head like this__ without permission_.' The voice scolded but with a hint of amusement as though entertained by the fact that Ion was caught red handed. The voice was heavenly; it made Ion feel safe and loved in some way. Her tone was hypnotic to the point that he never wanted her to stop talking. It sounded like Esther but it didn't seem like her at the same time. Was that even possible when this was Esther's mind?

'I'm sorry, I wasn't going to do anything,' Ion answered honestly, although feeling somewhat guilty now. All he wanted to do was look, he knew it was wrong but he wasn't going to do anything to her memories. Whatever he found out he was going to keep to himself, he wasn't the type of person to spread rumours or start gossip. Not that he had anyone to share it with but that wasn't the point. He wasn't going to judge Esther, he just wanted to get to know her more... Although that was something else he didn't quite understand.

'_I know; it's okay_.' The voice reassured, '_You were just curious_.'

Ion stiffened when he suddenly felt a pair of hands rest on his shoulders. It made him almost jump from his skin. The last thing he expected when sharing a mental link with someone was to physically feel their presence. His first instinct was to shove her hands away from him but the effort went unnoticed as Ion hadn't moved a muscle. He tried turning his head, taking a step forward or lifting an arm but nothing happened, some invisible force was keeping him completely still as though paralysed.

He heard the heavenly voice giggle with amusement over his wasted efforts. Ion was completely at her mercy and he knew this as well. Esther seemed to have very strong psychic abilities and concealed them very well to fool him like this. He wouldn't have suspected before this had she not communicated with him and touched him like this.

'_There is something a__bout you_,' the voice whispered as their breath tickled Ion's ear, causing tingly sensations to run through his body, '_Something I long for_' Ion had no idea if she was being serious or teasing but either way, it was doing things to his body which was making him very uncomfortable.

Her words made his heart skip a beat while he felt heat rush over his body as though he had been set on fire. But what did she mean by 'long for'? What did she intend to do to him exactly? Before he could question this openly, Ion's breath caught in his throat as he felt one of Esther's hands wander down his chest to his stomach. His heart was beginning to beat rapidly at the feel of her soft caress which reached right down to his toes. Her delicate fingers stroked him in ways he couldn't explain, she seemed to know what to do to excite him, but it worried him as well, knowing he couldn't do a thing but feel what she did.

'Esther,' Ion breathed, 'What are you doi-' His sentence was cut off when he felt her other hand caress over his throat. She stroked the pulse over the side of his neck which made Ion's body temperature rise all the more rapidly. His muscles clenched at the unexpected contact, while he felt his face blush pink with embarrassment. He wanted to remove her hands or at least move away from her but he couldn't do either. He was completely defenceless. For a moment, that thought didn't seem like such a bad thing but Ion pushed those thoughts away, knowing he couldn't afford to lose his focus. But he lost his focus a long time ago. He knew he should be fighting her off in some way, knowing it could be possible if he tried but part of him didn't want to. Part of him was enjoying this. Deep down, he didn't want it to end. 'Esther,' he barely managed to get the words out, 'Stop this at once.' His command sounded more like a plea than a demand. He couldn't take it anymore; he felt he was going to burst if this torture was to continue.

The voice chuckled with amusement, knowing from the very beginning that she was the dominant one over him, yet watching Ion try desperately to gain some control of the situation made her want to play with him all the more. Her hand on his stomach started touching the buttons of his dress as her fingers wandered back up to his chest. To distract him, the voice blew at his earlobe softly and nibbled at it, '_Your reactions to my touch are quite amusing. You tell me to stop yet your body is crying out for more. You don't really want me to stop do you_?' As she asked this, her fingers began to undo a gap in his dress so she could reach inside freely.

'Shut up,' Ion whispered with irritation while his body shivered with pleasure. All logic seemed to be thrown out the window at this moment, as though nothing else mattered. Her lips were like soft velvet. He closed his eyes as though savouring the moment, picturing how luscious and full her lips would be, how soft they were, how they might taste... Where did those thoughts come from?

Her hand wandered inside his dress then which went unnoticed until she touched Ion's soft bare skin with her fingers. He automatically froze as she explored a little more, somewhat surprised by how muscled he was when at first glance Ion looked to have a body of a young boy.

'_Hmm, what__'__s__ this_?' The voice questioned as her fingers felt over Ion's bra. Ion's eyes widened with alarm yet he couldn't do a thing to stop her. Her fingers went further inside the dress until she felt over one of Ion's bra pads, as though all knowing. The blonde couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Esther had revealed his big secret, as though she had known all along. It was only his second day, where had he gone wrong? Was it that noticeable that he wasn't a girl? He couldn't help but pale at the grave situation, he hadn't been able to complete his mission. He hadn't even found the Star of Hope yet.

'_It's you.._' The voice smiled to themselves, still keeping their hands over him possessively, '_It'__s really you..._'

Ion couldn't believe this, it wasn't his disguise that let him down, it was his own foolishness. How could he allow himself to be trapped so easily? Not to mention taken advantage of like he had no will of his own. 'No, this can't be. It has to be a lie.' He looked down at her hands and suddenly grabbed them, finding the power within himself to defy her. His movements were still sluggish as she tried holding him with her power but Ion's determination to overthrow her and accomplish his mission was all that mattered right now. He couldn't fail, he wouldn't, the Empress was relying on him.

"ESTHER!" Ion shouted, "STOP FEELING OVER ME RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!"

"Esther?" A masculine voice questioned as Ion felt tapping on his head.

Ion blinked, finding himself standing from his seat with Dietrich right in front of him. He dared not look up but felt he had to in order to get a bearing of the situation. He had Dietrich's arms locked in his hands while Dietrich's pointing stick was tapping at the blonde's head, as though trying to get his attention. Dietrich had an eyebrow raised at him quizzically while the students around the class just stared at him in disbelief. Ion blinked with bewilderment, this had to be a dream, surely he didn't just scream from the top of his lungs Esther's name and that she had her hands over him?

"..." He looked to his right and sure enough, Esther was sitting on her seat with her work before her as though nothing had happened. She was staring at him with the same shocked expression everyone else was. Was she truly surprised or her simply playing along? Surely she knew what had just happened... right? He didn't just imagine it, did he?

"Care to explain yourself Erin? That is, if there's still an explanation to be heard?" Dietrich smirked to himself, feeling triumphant right now with Ion making a total fool of himself. Girls from around the class tried to conceal their laughter, however little giggles here and there couldn't help but be heard. Ion just sat back down slowly, wanting to shrink into a little ball and disappear.

'This can't be happening.' He thought to himself as he noticed Dietrich preparing a detention slip.

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Classes had finally ended for the day which couldn't have come sooner in Ion's opinion. His earlier humiliation made it hard for him to show his face in the classes that followed. He wasn't used to people whispering strange rumours about him behind his back or looking at him as though he was the class clown. It both angered and embarrassed him all day, and it still did. If he were back home at the Empire, no one would dare to make fun of him as these Terrans did.

Detention was even worse as Dietrich made it a point to make Ion suffer as much as possible by writing multiple essays. While he made him cover topics in his strategy classes, he also made him write essays as to why they attend classes and what they were supposed to do in them – mainly listen to the instructor and never disrupt their lessons. It was very irritating to watch Dietrich rip his essays to shreds after he handed them to him, all finished and perfectly written and yet he didn't even read them. It was like Dietrich punching him in the face as though he was a total idiot.

If things couldn't get worse, Dietrich went to dispose of the shredded pieces of paper by throwing them into a bin across the room. Of course such a foolish action led to Ion's torn up work acting like snow as it floated from the air down to the floor in all different directions. The blonde was then ordered to clean the classroom while Dietrich got up from his desk and left him to the chore with a big satisfied smirk on his face. Ion was furious, it took every ounce of discipline to not go right up to him and knee him multiple times in the gut. He'd like to see him try laughing after that. But as Dietrich was his instructor, Ion had little choice but to do as he was told. While he cleaned up his torn essay papers from the ground, he made sure to straighten desks and tuck in all the chairs in the room, mop the floors, clean the boards, clean the windows and hope there was nothing else he had to do which will lead to another detention from Dietrich. It was a false hope though and he could guarantee that the young AX would find any excuse to punish him again.

After the huge task of cleaning the classroom, Ion was finally free to do what he wanted. He didn't have time to relax like he would have liked though, his mission was in jeopardy so he needed to do what he could before it was too late. With Esther knowing his secret, he could only pray that he could accomplish his mission before she told anyone.

There had to be some sources about the Star of Hope somewhere. Ion cursed himself for not researching the matter further before heading to the Outer World. Hopefully the Vatican library had what he was looking for. Any lead was better than nothing so he thought this was a good place to start. It took some time finding it but thanks to the map he received from Abel this morning, it didn't take as long as he thought it would. He was impressed by the size of it when he entered; the book shelves went that high up that you had to tilt your head back to see them all. Thankfully there were shelf ladders and second storey levels that could help people gain better access to the books on higher shelves.

'I will find what I'm looking for. I WILL.' Ion took a deep breath and with determination, he headed to book shelves closest to him to begin his search.

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Ion didn't know how much time had passed but as he gazed out the window, he noticed the sun setting behind rows of buildings. The sky which was once blue had turned into a bright orange colour with a bit of pink and purple adding to the mix. The view was beautiful, Ion was reluctant to turn away but when he did, he looked down at the book he was holding and placed it back on the shelf with a sigh of disappointment. Another dead end. Rubbing a hand behind his head where his nun hat sat firmly, Ion tried thinking of another lead he could use to source information about the Star. So far, he had tried books on astrology and Rome's history after the events of Armageddon.

'Hang on,' Ion pondered for moment, thinking he might have found another lead, 'The Armageddon...' He had remembered researching it back at the Empire some years ago now. He wasn't alive during that period when Vampires and Humans were at war, however, something about it nagged at his mind... Ion's head began to ache at the thought, as though he knew something from those events hundreds of years ago but didn't know what exactly. "It was... Nine hundred years ago... During that time... Ugh!" Ion went down on one knee as his hands held onto head in pain. Memories started to flood his mind, memories he had never seen before.

FLASHBACK

Blood, there was blood all around him. He was in some type of village, one he didn't recognise but all the houses had been set on fire. The smoke from these fires engulfed the skies while gave a source of light to those who needed it. All around him, people were either running or fighting for their lives as a constant flood of screams echoed through his mind only for it to die down once those responsible had been killed.

The village was under attack by men who were a lot stronger than these people. It didn't seem like a challenge at all, only a complete massacre. There were village men trying to defend their homes or families with either guns or swords but as brave as they were, they had no chance against the armoured opponents they faced.

The men attacking the village looked to be dressed in suits of body armour which gave them plenty of flexibility to move freely as though their suits were like a second skin. Bullets would bounce right off the armour, giving them the best of defences as they sliced through villagers with one swipe of their blades. Ion could tell they were his own kind judging by the way they moved and fought with little effort against these humans.

The figure that drew Ion's attention however was a man who was equipped with two swords. He stood tall with the same type of body armour as the others but instead of it being grey in colour like everyone else's; his armour was as black as an onyx. Lights from the fire reflected off his armour, giving it a radiant shine as though he was one with the flames. As he would turn his head, the long blonde pony tail set on his helmet would whip around him, matching his movements but it would never tangle or get in his way, it gave him an air of elegance as it shimmered like golden silk. He also wore a long pure white cape which hung from his shoulders and flowed to the ground. When the wind would catch it, it would lift the cape slowly off the ground, allowing it to flap softly behind him like wings of angel, even though he was anything but an angel sent from above, more like an angel of death sent by Lucifer himself.

He moved with such fluid, graceful steps that you wouldn't think he was a killer. Ion couldn't help but be in awe of his skills and appearance, even though this seemed to be the worst time to be in awe of someone. There was something familiar about him though, as though Ion knew him from somewhere. He couldn't figure out who it was though as the warrior's face was hidden underneath his helmet which was disappointing.

As Ion watched this warrior, his attention suddenly landed on the swords he had firmly locked in his armoured hands. The blades were flawless and shone with such brightness that you'd think they glowed. Closer to the hilts of the sword, the long wings of a bird was etched into the fine blades like an emblem while the hilts themselves were dark green with golden vines and leaves engraved into them.

This was strange, the way those swords were designed were just like his...

END OF FLASHBACK

When the pain began to subside from Ion's head, the blonde removed his hands slowly with caution, not certain if the pain really had stopped or not. But as he sat there on the library floor for a moment, completely still and silent, he found the ache in his head had completely vanished, as though nothing had even happened. Ion sighed with relief as he swiped away beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his gloved hand. As he slowly got to his feet, Ion wondered about the strange memory he just foresaw. It seemed so real but it couldn't have been, he had never been in a battle as intense as that before. He didn't even recognise the village.

While thinking about that dark warrior, Ion looked down at his right wrist and slowly ejected from his sleeve the dagger his grandmother had given him. He examined the silvery blade, tracing his fingers over the bird's wing as he recalled that warrior had on his swords. He then lowered his ruby gaze to the handle, noticing that same dark green colour and then the engraved vines and leaves in gold. This was bizarre; it was the same design but Ion didn't know what to make of it. Who was that man?

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**Author's Note:** Whoops... Let's see, how long did it take for me to update this? Hmm, easily a few months XP I'm very sorry for the delay, I've had such a writer's block it wasn't even funny. This chapter has about six different versions as well :-P Just today, I found myself writing with no idea what to do and then poof, I had a chapter fifteen pages long so I had to cut a lot out when I was finding it hard over the months to write anything (knocks self over the head). Oh well, the extra content should be reusable, we shall see.

I apologise again for the delay, I'll try really hard not to make you wait too long for the next chapter. But please please please, if you are reading this story for the first time or have recently checked up on it after waiting forever (sorry!) please review so it gives me more reason to update knowing it hasn't totally died! I hope you enjoyed it, see you all soon!


	7. Chapter 07 I'll Be There for You

**My Saviour **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. This story is merely for entertainment purposes, especially for my own entertainment XP Esther and Ion were meant to be, thus why this story features them as the pairing! ... Why I'm saying this now on Chapter 7 is beyond me :-P Anyway, moving on...

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Chapter 07 – _I'll __Be__ There for You_

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Ion took his time going through any books he could find based on the Armageddon nine hundred years ago. He had researched it back at the Empire, yet it surprised him how different their sources were compared to the Terrans. He knew it was the Terrans that caused the war as it was their fear of the Methuselah's power that made them want to eliminate them. Yet here in their sources, they state that the Methuselah had double-crossed them on more than one occasion and it was them that started the war in order to become the dominate species. Ion sighed; he couldn't figure out why both sources were so different. Even if told from different perspectives, they should follow the same historic battles and events from the past. Seemed to him more investigation was needed.

The book Ion was reading had a hard black cover with pages which were a dim coffee colour showing its age over time but the text was still readable. It was the thickest book he could find based on the Armageddon so he assumed it would be the best source for information here. Before deciding to borrow it, Ion read over the titles of the other books on the shelves, just to make sure he hadn't missed any he hadn't read yet.

As he scanned them, his eyes averted from the books for a moment and lifted to peer through the gap between the books and the shelf. As he did this, his eyes locked on an AX apprentice who was looking at some books some distance away. She had her back to him so he couldn't see who it was but she looked to be scanning the shelves for her own book, not surprising as she was in a library so Ion didn't know why she distracted him. It may have been the sky blue uniform and her movements that caught his eye. That seemed like a reasonable explanation.

The girl seemed to find what she was looking for but her head was tilted up at the higher shelves where she couldn't reach. She turned her head left and right then, as though looking for someone or something to help her get the book. That was until she found a ladder sitting against a wall in between the shelf was standing in front of and another nearby. Walking over to it, she picked it up and positioned it against the bookshelf where her desired book was placed. The girl began climbing the ladder carefully as she got closer and closer to the top. Ion continued watching her, unable to shake off the concern he had for her. She was wearing the same heeled boots as he was, as it was part of their uniform but he was worried about her slipping or missing a step. The girl would have known the risks so he should just mind his own business but he couldn't pry his eyes away.

For some reason, he felt an urgency to get her down from there and get the book himself so she wouldn't get hurt. But why did he feel that way? When did he start caring so much about the well being of Terrans? He was surprised with himself; she would've known the risks before climbing so if she fell it would be her own fault. Yet the moment he'd try turning away, he felt this heaviness in his heart as though he was going to make a terrible mistake. 'Damn it Ion, pull yourself together! She's fine; she can take care of herself. She's an AX apprentice after all! If she couldn't handle climbing a ladder, how could she handle vampires?' Forcing his gaze away with those thoughts in mind, Ion was about to walk off until he heard someone yelling down the other end of the library. Any Terran wouldn't have heard it from such a distance but with his sharp hearing, he could hear it as though the Terran was yelling right in his ear.

"Please let me through! She's going to fall and get seriously hurt if we don't help her now!" A hysterical girl cried out.

"Miss Lang, please refrain from screaming and running through the library," a librarian said as they tried calming her down.

"I don't have time for this; she's going to get hurt!"

"What are you talking about?"

Ion overheard the girl's distress and wondered at first what she meant until he heard an unfamiliar crackling sound; it was very faint even for his own ears. Ion turned his head slowly, following the trail of the sound until his gaze focused back on the girl again. He noticed a subtle haze of what seemed like steam or smoke coming from below her. When his gaze drifted down the ladder, Ion's eyes suddenly widened in shock as he noticed the ladder's legs suddenly snap and gave way like it had rotted from making contact with acid. The ladder wobbled with its legs now out of commission. The girl noticed this, wondering at first if someone had bumped into the ladder but then the body itself grew unstable as though it was going to fall apart. The moment it snapped around the middle of its body, the girl yelped but quickly grabbed onto some of the shelves of the book shelf, watching as the ladder collapsed into pieces on the ground. While she thought she was safe, the girl suddenly felt the bookshelf stir slightly as well as though it couldn't support her weight. These shelves were nearly two storeys high and are normally bolted to the walls for safety purposes yet this one didn't seem to be. With the girl nearly at the top, she couldn't jump off without seriously hurting herself. Knowing she was probably going to be crushed under its excessive weight, she couldn't help but scream as she felt it falling forward.

Without a moments delay, Ion dropped his book and suddenly dashed towards her with all the speed he could muster. He moved with such speed that you couldn't even see the blur of his movements as he charged forward, only feel the sudden wind current that followed moments later. Ion needed to save this girl without giving his abilities away. The shelf that was falling was like watching a great wall of bricks tumbling to the ground as books were falling everywhere. He hoped no one would notice how fast he was moving but he didn't have much choice, in seconds the girl will be crushed if he didn't act now.

Ion ran towards the shelves from the side instead of head on, knowing if he did charge in he may not get enough time to jump away or run back by the time he caught the girl. He held his arms out, ready to catch her as he was now under the shelves and about ready to make contact with her. But since he was moving so fast, he had miscalculated the speed of her fall, resulting in her suddenly landing on his head instead of his arms. Not expecting this, the Methuselah suddenly fell forward from not only her weight but also tripping on one of the various books on the ground. He cursed himself for his miscalculation but knew now wasn't the time to dwell on it. Before he made contact with the ground, Ion used the grip in his boots to propel them forward so he could dive to safety with the girl laying awkwardly on him. In mid air, Ion forced the girl to fall back into his arms so he could support her upper body while her knees rested on his shoulders. With the girl's dress shielding his view, he could only hope he had dived far enough to miss the shelf's impact to the ground.

He listened as the shelves crashed onto the hard floor, landing on top of all the books it once held with the impact echoing throughout the library. At the same time, both Ion and the girl made impact with the ground as they landed hard on the marble floors, causing the girl to wince a bit but it was Ion who took most of the strain as he was shielding her body as much as possible. They skid and rolled across the ground like they had landed on ice before they suddenly slammed into another book shelf. It was the girl's head and neck that made contact with the shelves first; the impact hard enough to knock her out as books from this shelf fell on top of them.

"Ouch, damn it, son of a..." Ion started cursing in his own language several times before slowly raising his head from the ground. He felt like his face had been rubbed against sand paper, all because of this stupid Terran landing on his head of all places. 'Damn, even my eyes are all blurry,' Ion tried blinking a few times to clear his vision. At least his head felt a bit better with the soft cushioning he landed on but... 'Wait,' Ion froze, 'Cushioning'? When his eyes focused, Ion went wide eyed when he found his head right in between the girl's legs with his face only an inch away from her underwear, meaning he was face to face with... Ion went bright red in the face, redder than even his ruby eyes. The girl's legs were sitting on his shoulders while her dress was covering him from his shoulders up. Ion could almost picture how this may look from another person's perspective. This was not good, not good at all!

Ion tried backing away as calmly and quietly as possible but all it resulted in was her body sliding closer to his face. As she was lying in his arms her weight was pinning them between her warm body and the floor. Pulling away was only making her body slide closer to his head so Ion stopped immediately, not daring to try again. 'Hurry up and get off me you stupid girl!' Was what Ion felt like saying but instead stayed silent. He wondered if she was okay as she didn't look to be moving. He wanted to check but he couldn't see with her skirt over his head or move it with his hands pinned. In terms of injuries, he couldn't check on anything but her lower body but at least she wasn't hurt here, or there, but she looked to have a scratch here, perhaps he could offer to make it better... 'NO! Get a grip of yourself!' Ion scolded in his head, not believing he was even thinking such things. His heart was beating furiously, threatening to explode if he was kept here much longer. 'Someone... Help me...'

"Ugh..." The girl finally came to as she brought a hand to the back of her head, feeling an unbearable ache from the earlier collision. She removed the books from herself and looked around for a moment, wondering what had happened. She remembered wanting to get her favourite book and got a ladder in order to reach it, but then something happened which had her falling to the ground, nearly being crushed by a large set of shelves. She remembered being rescued though, it was why the shelves and books that had collapsed were laying in a heap a few metres away and she was lying here on top of the person that saved her life but... There was a pause, as she looked down at the person's body which was lying unmoving beneath hers.

"Oh god!" She exclaimed as the girl quickly got off the girl that saved her life. It was a shock to find a girl being her saviour. While their arms were slender, they had such a firm strong grip that when they were holding her, she felt safe and protected as though a man was doing everything he could to protect her. Their speed was incredible as well. Those few seconds where she felt there was no escape resulted in this person risking everything to save her. They were incredible, and she was an AX apprentice just like her! She needed to find out who it was, "I'm so sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you too badly." The girl kneeled down beside Ion as she helped adjust his headdress. As soon as his face came to view and his red eyes locked onto her blue ones, she couldn't hide her surprise when she recognised him.

"E-Erin!?" Esther exclaimed with surprise.

"Esther?!" Ion was just as shocked when he noticed Esther kneeling beside him. He couldn't believe it was her all this time. He noticed she was sitting very close to him, her hands still holding his headdress as though it was going to slip from his head again. His heart was still beating frantically from the situation moments ago and it didn't seem like it was going to settle any time soon, especially with her sitting so close. Ion averted his gaze from hers, not able to look at her with a straight face. He was still bright red as he couldn't get her underwear out of his mind. For those few seconds that he was under her dress, he had every part of her memorised like he had taken a photo and studied it for hours on end. The position excited him in ways he couldn't describe, yet she was a Terran, he was supposed to despise Terrans yet he couldn't despise her. What was wrong with him? Why was he feeling such things over a mere Terran!?

"D-Damn it all!" Ion turned his eyes to meet hers; suddenly furious at his inability to understand his emotions, "Why are you so... so... so... Ugh!" He didn't even know what he was trying to say, it was her fault yet he didn't know how to express it.

"Erin," Esther didn't seemed at all phased by his frustration, instead she was looking at him with tenderness and gratitude. "You saved me." She gave him one of her sweet innocent smiles which made him want to melt. His frustration seemed to drain right out of his system, making him almost forget what he was angry about.

He looked at her quizzically, not certain how to respond or act at this moment but attempted to say something, "Y-Yes." Simple words seemed to take effort for him to say, he couldn't help it with her being so close like this. Were girls always this way around each other? For some reason, he doubted that, after all, it was probably all in his head. But why was she still holding onto his headdress, it was fixed now, she could let go and give him some space already.

"Thank you..." Esther replied softly as her gaze suddenly softened on his. Ion stiffened when her hands suddenly slide down his headdress to rest at each side of his head, her hands resting a little under his earlobes. Her face started inching closer and closer to his while she looked as though she was in a daze. Ion's eyes widened, while his heart began to race all over again. She wasn't going to kiss him was she? If she was grateful then fine but she didn't need to go that far to say thanks! Pushing her away or getting to his feet seemed like two really good options right now, too bad his body wasn't complying with his wishes. It was like his body was nothing but jelly. He couldn't move; but it was like he didn't WANT to move...

'Why, do I feel like this around her...?' Ion thought to himself as he noticed Esther's lips so close to his now that it would only be a second before they were touching. For reasons unknown, Ion felt his eyelids slowly close as he waited for the moment that he'd feel Esther's lips against his own. The thought didn't seem as bad as he was making it out to be. She was a Terran but, the thought of kissing her didn't disgust him in the slightest. It was like, he wanted it to happen.

It was then that he felt something fall against his chest. He opened his eyes, only to find that it was Esther and she had passed out on him. Her head was lying against his chest while her arms now dangled by his hips. Ion blinked in confusion, "E-Esther?" What happened? Just seconds ago she was going to kiss him and now she suddenly falls unconscious as though it was all a big joke. It was like her intention was to torment him and nothing more. He sighed, 'She's going to be the death of me.' But in the end, he decided to get over it, at least for now.

Resting his hand on her head, Ion wondered at first if the danger she experienced was too much for her that she needed some rest. That was until he felt something damp and warm against his palm. The moment he turned his hand over to see, his whole body froze when he found it to be, blood. "Esther!" A girl called out, causing Ion to look up when he found two girls run up to them. They both wore AX apprentice uniforms like himself and Esther but he didn't recognise them, although it appeared they knew Esther.

The girl that called out earlier looked down at Esther and Ion, although she looked a little surprised, "She's... Not under the bookshelves?" She had brown eyes and hair which went past her shoulders in length. What she said confused him, as it almost sounded like she expected her to be, but why?

The other girl kneeled beside Ion as she removed Esther's headdress slowly. She rested her hand over Esther's head where she looked to be injured and closed her eyes. "I'm going to try helping her, please hold her still." This girl looked to have long brown hair with bits of it showing from outside the headdress. With the hair resting by each side of her head, she had both parts tied at around the middle of her bangs like loose pigtails. The girl looked as though she was concentrating on something, her expression was calm and completely void of emotion. Ion watched her with curiosity, not certain what she was trying to do at first until he noticed her hand glowing. Her expression changed to that of pain as she brought her free hand over the one on Esther's head, as though needing it for support. The glowing grew more intense as Esther's eyebrow twitched subtly, as though feeling the effects of whatever the girl was doing to her.

After a moment, the glowing eventually died down and the girl slowly removed her hand from Esther's head. She was sweating a little while her breathing came out in short gasps, as though exhausted. She started falling back a bit but her friend quickly caught her and held her up for support as it looked as though she'd pass out any moment. Ion examined Esther's head, wanting to check the injury she had but besides the dry blood in her hair, her wound looked to be healed! Ion was shocked as he looked at the girl that helped her. He couldn't believe a Terran would have the ability to heal; it seemed unnatural as he only knew of Methuselah with that type of ability but it was only self healing, they could never heal others in the manner this Terran did.

"Miss Jessica! Miss Agnes!" A familiar voice called out which caused Ion to cringe at the mere sound of it. Abel rushed towards them with Dietrich following close behind. If it was Abel's voice that put Ion on edge, it was the sight of Dietrich which made his blood boil. Putting up with one of them was bad enough, he wasn't sure if he could handle them both at once.

When the two AX made it to them, Dietrich kneeled down to examine Esther for any injuries while Abel gazed out at the book shelf which had collapsed. Once Abel turned his ice blue eyes to Esther, he looked her over and sighed with relief to see she was unharmed, "She seems alright thank goodness," Abel said, "Miss Jessica, I'm glad your prediction was wrong."

"I'm glad as well Father Nightroad," the girl named Jessica replied, "However, the incident still happened. If it weren't for Erin, Esther could have got seriously hurt. I saw it, I felt it..." Jessica looked down at Esther sadly and shook her head with disappointment, "If only I was a bit sooner, I might have been able to prevent it..." Jessica went a bit teary eyed then, cursing herself for not being able to do anything in the end.

Abel walked over and patted her on the head in order to cheer her up, "We wouldn't have known about this at all, had it not been for you. Esther will be alright, no serious harm has come to her. Please cheer up as I'm sure Esther wouldn't want you blaming yourself."

"Y-Yes Father," Jessica closed her eyes and took a deep breath in order to sooth herself.

Dietrich kept his gaze on Esther, watching her sleep as though she was merely taking a nap. Ion had his eyes locked on him like a hawk while his grip tightened around Esther's small body. The young AX looked at him then, giving him a look of warning to let Esther go but there was no way in hell Ion was going to do that.

"Father Nightroad, I'm going to take Esther to her room so she can get some rest." Ion picked her up bridal style and kept her close while his gaze narrowed on Dietrich, daring him to try and take her from him.

Dietrich simply smiled, "We appreciate you helping Esther, dear Erin. However I think it will be best to take her to the nurse's office just so she can have a check up." He held his arms out, "Allow me to help as I'm sure she must be heavy for you."

Was this guy for real? Esther weighed nothing more than a feather to him. The fact that Dietrich was implying he was weak was enough to put Ion in a fit of rage but with Esther in the condition she was in, he couldn't afford to get carried away. He grinded his teeth hard against each other in order to prevent himself from saying anything unnecessary and smiled as innocently as he could, "I appreciate your help Father Von Lohengrin but Esther is fine, she just needs some rest so I'll be taking her back to our room."

"Are you a doctor Erin? You can't guarantee she is fine," Dietrich challenged.

"Last time I checked, you weren't one either so please don't imply you know better than me in this instance just because you're an AX." Dietrich's eyebrow twitched at those words but his face remained calm and neutral. His smile still remained but Ion could tell it was strained. Ion's patience was wearing thin as well, it wasn't just Dietrich's.

Abel looked between the two and laughed nervously as he waved a hand to get their attention, "Um, how about this; Miss Erin can take Miss Esther back to the dorms and we'll arrange for one of the nurses to come and check up on her later, huh, huh? Sound good?"

"Fine by me," Ion agreed as he smiled, hiding the triumph he felt right now in getting his way, "I assume you'll be able to investigate this matter further? Father Nightroad?"

Abel nodded slowly and smiled with reassurance, "Not to worry Miss Erin, Dietrich and I can handle this so please take care of Miss Esther."

Ion nodded in response and started heading towards the exit of the library with Esther in his arms. For the first time since he had arrived, Ion actually appreciated the presence of Abel this time around. Had it not been for him, god knew what Dietrich might try and pull in order to get his way. Still, the whole incident in general seemed strange to him. That ladder was of a metal alloy, it shouldn't have crumbled like it did when Esther was on it. Even those shelves would take ten men the size of Abel to push over, if not more. They shouldn't have collapsed in the first place, it almost seemed as though this was set up to happen. But if it was, who would have planned it and why?

The Methuselah turned his head back for a moment just to see what the others were doing. Abel was kneeling by the collapsed book shelf with Jessica standing beside him, as though talking to him about something. The other girl which Abel called Agnes was sitting on the ground, probably exhausted from the amount of power she used. Dietrich was standing at another end of the bookshelf from Abel, he looked to be examining the ladder but his fox-like eyes suddenly locked on Ion's as though he had sensed them. Ion stared back at him, matching the death glare he was receiving before he turning his head away and heading out the library.

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Ion was back at their dorm room with Esther sleeping soundly in her bed. Ion was sitting on a chair beside her, not willing to leave her side until he was certain she was alright. As he sat there watching her sleep so peacefully, he mind would wander back to the events back at the library. His mind screamed at him to go back so he could investigate the incident himself, yet he couldn't will himself to leave Esther here on her own. He could have had the nurse stay with her, as they had visited when Ion just got Esther to bed but no, he declined as he felt Esther would be taken care of better by himself and no one else. Stupid logic really as the nurse would have more experience than he did but that's how he was really, a stubborn fool. Deep down, he didn't regret it though. With Esther injured, it gave him an excuse to stay by her side.

"Ugh," Esther moaned a bit as she slowly opened her eyes. She felt she had slept for days, even though it was only a couple of hours.

The moment she moaned, Ion had snapped out of his thoughts and turned all his attention to Esther, relieved that she had woken up.

"Esther," Ion looked down at her with concern, "How are you feeling?"

"Um, alright I think. My head and neck are aching a little but besides that, I'm fine. I know it could've been worse so I can't complain..." Esther smiled sweetly at Ion, "I'm sorry I didn't get to finish what I said earlier, I suddenly got very dizzy and ended up passing out."

Ion thought back on that moment and suddenly blushed, 'Oh, she just wanted to talk, was that all it was?' Ion felt like an idiot now, thinking she had other intentions to repay him. He should have known better than to think it would be something so intimate; after all, she loved Dietrich... It shouldn't bother him yet he couldn't help feeling disappointed all the same.

"Thank you for your help Erin, you didn't have to risk your own safety to save me. You didn't get hurt at all did you?"

Ion shook his head slowly, "No, I'm fine so don't concern yourself over me. I helped you because I knew I was capable, that and I was the only one around that could." Esther blinked at his words while Ion quickly turned his head away, realising how poorly his words came out. She was showing general concern, he could have simply thanked her for being worried about him yet he seemed to dismiss it like it hardly mattered to him.

It was then that Ion suddenly felt Esther's arms wrap around him tightly, causing him to nearly fall off his chair as he got pulled closer to the bed where she sat. He was completely caught off guard, not expecting Esther to do such a thing. She felt so warm and soft. He couldn't help but feel comfort in her embrace, as much as it embarrassed him to admit. But she was sitting up now and since she had knocked her head, he felt he should remind her not to be so careless, "E-Esther, what are you doing!? You should be lying down!"

"I wouldn't be able to hug you if I was lying down Erin," Esther replied as she smiled a bit, "Even if someone else was around to save me, I wouldn't have been as grateful as I am now."

"Why?"

"Because it would've been someone from the AX, they're used to that sort of thing all the time and its part of their job. If they weren't able to save me, I would've been very surprised. But speaking of the AX, I hadn't seen anyone that can move as fast as you. You seem strong too. You held onto me without any problems yet I'm about the same size as you." Esther giggled a bit as she let go of him, "I'm sure if the situation was reversed, I would've had trouble moving around so easily had you been in my arms."

"Uh huh," Ion sighed, not really taking her words all that seriously. He started mumbling to himself as he turned his head away, "Had it been Dietrich who saved you, you would've been more grateful I'm sure."

"What was that?" Esther asked as she tilted her head to the side in curiosity. A jolt of pain from her neck suddenly caused her to wince a bit. She brought her hand behind her neck in order to rub it but Ion's hand suddenly took her wrist before she touch it.

"I'll help you," Ion offered as he gently turned her around on the bed so her back was facing him. He brought his hands over each side of her neck gently as he applied his thumbs over the bruised area of her neck. He began a slow, soothing massage which helped Esther to relax with each stroke. He made sure not apply too much pressure as he didn't want to cause Esther any more discomfort. But it was his own recklessness that resulted in this injury, had he not tripped and been so rough with her. He wasn't a healer but it was something he could do to make it less painful.

"Mm, that feels so good," Esther closed her eyes, "Even if you can't cook, your massages would win any man's heart over I'm sure."

Ion continued massaging her; however he was a bit surprised by her words. The fact that she said 'man' threw him off guard as he thought she knew he was a man. 'Wait, she doesn't think I prefer men does she?!' Ion suspected which made him cringe at the thought.

"Is something wrong?" Esther asked, sensing she must have said something wrong for him to be so silent.

"Esther, tell me, how do you see me?" Ion wasn't certain why he was asking such a thing but it came out before he could stop himself. He felt bad probing her for information in this condition but he didn't have much of a choice. If she knew he was in disguise, she could jeopardise his mission and he couldn't afford that. Even now when she commented on his speed and strength, they were traits Methuselah commonly possessed. These facts shared with the wrong people could be his undoing, and being in the Vatican wasn't going to make things any easier on him. The moment she answered, he was going to probe her mind to make certain she wasn't lying to him. What happened earlier in the classroom still concerned him; he didn't want to be open about it with her unless she really didn't know, but regardless, it would depend on how she answered him.

Esther was silent for a moment, as though thinking about it. She felt her tense up slightly, as though his words affected her in some way but she tried hiding it with her calm posture. "You're, a really special friend."

Ion stopped massaging as he looked at the back of her head with surprise. That wasn't the type of answer he was expecting.

"I know I've only known you for a little while, but, there is something about you... I'm not sure what it is or how to say it but, I feel it here." Esther placed a hand over her chest where her heart sat, "I think the more I get to know you, the more it'll make sense. I... I'd like to depend on you, as I'd like you to depend on me." She turned her head so she could see him but Ion raised his hands to her cheeks and quickly turned her head back before she could. Ion was confused, confused yet touched by her words. He couldn't help but blush with embarrassment, which was why he wanted her head forward so she wouldn't see. Ion was a mess of emotions when it came to her, which was surprising as he was usually quite good at shielding his emotions, but not around her it seemed.

Ion's hands slipped from her cheeks to rest on her shoulders as he rested his forehead against the back of her head, careful not to touch the area where she had been wounded. He touched her mind very briefly, wanting to check if she knew his secret. From what he gathered, Esther didn't appear to know he was a Methuselah or a man for that matter. It was like that experience in Dietrich's classroom was nothing but his own imagination, but that couldn't be right. He was so convinced it happened and that it was Esther who conversed with him telepathically but she appeared to have no memory of it. If he tried looking any deeper, he might get caught up in that mind lock again and he wasn't ready for that right now. Not to mention he didn't want to harm Esther.

"Um, E-Erin, are you alright?"

Ion snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her for a moment. Noticing he had his head resting against hers, he quickly pulled back and let her go, "S-Sorry, I just had a lot on my mind."

"May I ask what it is? It could help you."

"No, thank you but no. It's my problem so I'll deal with it."

Esther turned to look at him then, "Erin, I meant what I said." Ion stared at her blankly as Esther took his hands within hers. She looked at him directly with determination in her eyes and continued, "I won't ever forget what happened today, you did so much for me that I feel I must repay you in some way. Please know that I will be there for you as you have been for me."

Ion felt Esther's hands squeeze his gently, trying to show how serious she was about her words. He continued staring at her intently, thinking how unusual this scene was; a Terran and a Methuselah, holding hands and discussing friendship as though it were natural. What would the Empress say if she saw him like this? Is this what she hoped for with every Terran and Methuselah? The thought at first seemed so unrealistic to him that he wanted to laugh. Yet now, it seemed her goal didn't seem as farfetched as he originally thought. He was here, and Esther was alongside him. He may be in an unfamiliar world, but he wasn't alone.

"Your hands are very warm..." Ion closed his eyes, blushing a bit.

Esther looked down at their hands with surprise and quickly let go, "S-Sorry..."

He opened his eyes again and looked at her with a softened gaze. She had her eyes averted as she looked a bit embarrassed too. Surprising how Esther could hug him moments ago and be fine with it yet now look uncomfortable by simply holding his hands. She was certainly strange, but not in a bad way. It was cute, she was cute and it made Ion smile, "Can I rely on you, Esther?"

Esther looked at him again and quickly nodded, "O-Of course..."

Ion wasn't going to give his trust to Esther entirely but felt he'd give her a chance. If he was going to help bridge the gap between the two races then he needed to believe it could work. Esther was going to be his test to see if Terrans really could be trusted. He hoped deep down that Esther will stay true to her words. He had been in denial for some time about his acceptance for Terrans but it didn't seem so bad to accept now. He wanted this to work; he wanted to trust Esther with his life, he wanted more than anything for her to stay by his side. He wanted her... Because he...

Ion suddenly went red and quickly brought his hand to his mouth, coughing a bit as though clearing his throat. Esther was about to ask if he was alright but Ion held up his other hand to silence her and gestured for her to turn around, "I didn't finish what I started. Once I'm done, you're going to get some more rest."

"Okay," Esther smiled a bit and turned around again so Ion could resume his massage. While this was for Esther's benefit, Ion was technically doing this for himself. He wanted to touch her. He couldn't get enough of how good she felt, how soft her skin was. Every moment he had with her was like a dream which he hoped he'd never wake up from. It was a new beginning where he felt more determined than ever to make peace become a reality.

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**Author's Note:** Yay! Seventh chapter completed! (dances) Yet very long too, I felt hardly anything happened in this chapter yet it turned out being the longest one so far :/ Bizzare... :P Not so much happened story-wise, as I wanted a bit more interaction between Ion and Esther in this. How was it? Do you like me teasing Ion over his 'feelings' for Esther, even though he can't admit them? He almost did XP But if he thinks that was the worst of it, he's very mistaken (hides devil horns). 

I featured two new characters which will make more appearances in the chapters to come. Originally they were going to make a scene in Chapter 5 but it didn't end up happening. Do you recognise them? They were featured in an episode each in the Trinity Blood series, Jessica from Episode 1 where Abel meets her on the aircraft and Agnes from Episode 6 where we all see Sword Dancer for the first time. I know they weren't very fleshed out characters but there weren't any other character's around Esther's age that I could use – plus I hate making my own unless they are very VERY minor characters XP They will have a big role to play in my story so that should be fun.

I also got inspiration to borrow a scene from the official series to feature in my own fanfic. In episode 13 where Ion is upset over the loss of Radu, Esther comforts him by telling him she was his friend. I got inspired to add that scene where she took his hand and Ion commented on how warm it was before she pulled away all embarrassed (aww). Also that bit where he asked if he could rely on her in my fic, was 'believe you' in the series but you get the idea. Of course the roles were reversed in comparison to who was sitting on the bed but this is just nit-picking now lol :P The scene fit well in my own story, and it was one of my favourite scenes so I had to add it. (I'm going based on the fan-subs I watched so if it's a bit different from the official subs of the DVD's or the English dub then forgive me!)

Anyway, that's enough from me, sorry to bore you all. I just wanted to make sure the things I added in the chapter made sense to those who may not have noticed. Perhaps Jessica and Agnes but probably not the borrowed scene :P But yes, I'm shutting up now, see you all in the next chapter! Let me know what you thought :D


	8. Chapter 08 One Thing Leads to Another

**My Saviour **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from Trinity Blood. This story is merely for entertainment purposes. Ion and Esther forever!

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Chapter 08 – _One Thing Leads to Another_

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This morning's class was swordplay practice, one part of the various Melee classes the AX apprentices had to attend. These classes were held in a large gym within the Vatican which Ion didn't even know existed. He noticed after being here for a few days that a school seemed to be inbuilt within the Vatican to accommodate their students who needed both AX training and schooling. This again proved to him just how large this place was.

With what was required of this morning's class, they were to dress in different outfits from the usual AX apprentice dresses. Lucky for him that it was the first class of the day so he and Esther dressed in their proper attire before attending, meaning a visit to the locker rooms was unnecessary. The outfit was similar to the robes samurai wore. The top was a short robe which they had to fold and tie around themselves which had long wide sleeves and went with wide, baggy pants. The top was blue, like the colour of their nun dresses and the pants were white. Ion had tied his hair back in a long ponytail before arriving, just to be on the safe side. It sat firmly on his head so even when he turned and flicked his head around, it remained in place. Of course, having it in a high ponytail was a different story all together. He was content with it simply resting against his back but Esther kept nagging him to have it tied up higher, as it looked prettier apparently. To save her from touching his wig and for peace and quiet, Ion complied in the end but it was so uncomfortable.

There were many girls in this class, their numbers had doubled in comparison to what he was used to. Esther was in his class which wasn't a surprise but Ion also noticed Jessica and Agnes, two girls he happened to meet when Esther had that accident in the library. While that incident was only yesterday, Ion hoped to hear some development in the AX's investigation. Of course, he doubted if Abel and Dietrich would tell him anything, since it would probably be privileged information for AX only. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little concerned about Esther's condition. After such a dangerous experience where she could have become paraplegic or worse, she bounced out of bed this morning and went about her usual morning routine with a cheerfulness which both disturbed and pleased him, strangely enough. He hoped she wasn't forcing herself but he didn't press the matter further, he figured this morning's exercises would prove if she could truly handle it.

When everyone was assembled in the gym, Hugue de Watteau, their Melee Weapon's Teacher came in and ordered them to start their stretches. Short, direct and to the point, just the way Ion liked. He was a tall man with fair skin and long wavy blonde hair; he seemed younger than Abel, but a few years older than Dietrich.

During their stretches, Ion twisted his body left and right and stretched his arms behind himself as he observed the others. Esther was minding her own business while Jessica and Agnes looked to be talking a bit. He noticed Jessica looking at Agnes with a cheeky grin as she whispered, "Father Watteau looks as handsome as ever this morning. Will you see about getting some one on one practice with him again?"

Agnes' face turned pink. She shook her head repeatedly and whispered, "It wasn't like that! You know I'm not very good with swords."

"It's a good excuse none the less," Jessica continued to tease which made Agnes all the more uncomfortable. Ion rolled his eyes but continued his stretches; it was very obvious Agnes seemed interested in Father Watteau. Ion could tell a few students in the class felt the same way but Hugue had an air about him that made girls keep their distance. He seemed the type of person who cared only for his job and nothing more. It was good, while he was a man of few words, he was direct and honest, someone who gets things done and expected obedience. Ion could grow to admire and even respect him, unlike Dietrich who played people like fools and Abel who was a fool.

"Ugh," Esther gasped a bit as she brought a hand to her neck.

This snapped Ion out of his thoughts as he drew his attention to her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Esther said, smiling with reassurance, "I just turned my head a little too quickly and felt a bit of an ache in my neck. I just need to be a little careful, it hasn't fully healed yet."

"Then sit this class out before you cause more injury to yourself," Ion recommended but Esther waved her hand in dismissal and turned her back on him so she could continue her stretches. Ion's eyebrow twitched with annoyance, he was only showing concern yet this was what he gets for it? Plus he wasn't finished talking, he had more he wanted to say and she had no right to dismiss him like that.

Still fuming, Ion resumed his stretches and stood on one foot while he bent and folded the other behind him, using his hand to hold his leg in place as he balanced on the one spot for a while. He continued glaring at Esther's back while he did this, still annoyed at her earlier behaviour. He was only showing concern so how dare she, and a Terran for that matter, turn away like that as if his opinion didn't matter. If she knew who he was, she would be regretting her actions and would be punished for them; that would show her. Ion wasn't someone would could dismiss things very easily, he was rarely challenged or insulted at the Empire, yet in the few days he had been here he was getting it regularly. But he wasn't going to let this slip; he was going to give Esther a piece of his mind.

Just as he was about to however, he got distracted when Esther suddenly bent over as she reached to touch her toes, intending to stretch her calf muscles. The action was innocent enough, many other girls were doing the same thing, yet the teenage male in Ion was seeing it differently. Curse him, and curse her, Ion thought to himself. 'Just turn your eyes away,' he chanted internally, 'you're stronger than this, just focus on what you were doing, not on Esther's cute little behind… Get a grip on yourself, you're still staring… Damn it, stop it already!' What ever happened to the strict discipline he had back at the Empire? What was he reducing himself to?

If he couldn't make things any worse for himself, he managed to when mind lingered to the memory of when he and Esther first met, when she was dripping wet with nothing but a towel wrapped around her slender yet well curved body. A wave of desire spread through his body at the thought, but the effect didn't suit the stretches he was supposed to doing. It caught him so unexpectedly that when he realised what was happening, he lost his balance, forgetting he was standing on one foot and suddenly fell face first onto the hard floor.

Jessica and Agnes turned their attention to him when they heard the loud smack against the hard floor. Esther turned her head and looked at him in confusion as she stood upright, "Um, are you okay Erin?"

"Y-Yeah," Ion murmured as he sat back up, rubbing his now sore face. 'I think I deserved that,' he thought to himself, cursing his dirty mind.

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Once stretches and warm ups were complete, they were to practice different offensive and defensive sword techniques. So far they had been basic moves which Ion had already mastered, but many other girls in his class were struggling to understand them. He would observe and notice one girl swing too quickly, another too slowly, one would be holding her sword incorrectly and another would be completely off balance. Father Watteau would notice when a girl wasn't doing a drill correctly and would instruct them as to where they were going wrong. They would either understand or they would go back to their bad habits after he went to another student but it was hard not to notice their lingering gaze on him as he left, or watch them get excited when he got close. Ion simply went through each drill as it came; it was no difficulty for him so he went through the motions with a clear and focused mind, void of any thought and emotion as to redeem himself for his earlier behaviour.

"Wah, I'm so tired." Jessica whined as she loosened her grip on her wooden sword and rolled her shoulders, "How much longer are we supposed to do this?"

"Till Father Watteau tells us?" Esther assumed as she continued doing her exercises. The technique they were currently practicing a vertical swipe with the blade where you hold the sword above their head then thrust it forward in a swift vertical arch then repeat. It was basic, but a very effective move when put on the offensive. They were to continue this swing over and over. A few swings weren't so bad but as you continually swung, your arms really started to feel the strain. Esther wasn't putting much force behind her swings as her arms were killing her but she didn't want to get in trouble for stopping, "You better keep going Jessica, or else Father Watteau will make you do even more straining exercises."

Jessica paled at the thought; remembering last time he made her clean the whole gym with nothing but a cloth and a small bucket. It took her over two hours to clean, her arms, legs and back felt ready to snap by the end of it. Jessica quickly composed herself and started her exercises again but with more enthusiasm and speed. Esther watched her from the corner of her eye and noticed with the way she was swinging that she looked like she was trying to swat a bee. Her expression made the thought all the more realistic with her franticness and strained focus. Esther tried to hold back her laughter but Jessica looked so ridiculous that she had to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Jessica asked as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously on the red head beside her.

"Oh, nothing," Esther lied while trying harder to contain her laughter.

"Oh quit it, you don't look all that spectacular yourself," Jessica teased while Esther looked at her in shock. "Yeah, you heard me," she continued, "With the way you're swinging, you'd be lucky to hit turtle with those slow, effortless swings."

Esther laughed nervously, "You noticed huh?"

"Hard not to," Jessica smiled.

"That's not good, if you can notice then-"

"Then I'd be able to notice," Father Watteau finished which made both Esther and Jessica jump in surprise. They turned their heads slowly with dread, noticing their Melee Weapon's teacher standing behind them, not looking all too impressed.

"Perhaps you two would like to chat while scrubbing the floors after class," Hugue stated with no amusement in his tone. Both girls bowed their heads in apology. With their heads low, they listened to the sounds that were being made throughout the rest of the gym. Nothing but the swinging of swords, pants and grunts could be heard. This made Esther and Jessica realise they were the only ones talking, no wonder they were caught so easily.

"W-We're sorry Father Watteau," Jessica said.

"That's alright, but it doesn't excuse you. I expect you both here later after classes," Hugue ordered. Both girls' shoulders slumped with disappointment, hoping their apology would be enough but they should have known better. Hugue was always quick to punish and barely showed mercy. The simple fact was that Hugue didn't have much sympathy for those that couldn't follow simple instructions. Other girls in the room were struggling just as much as they were but they at least kept their complaints to themselves. He admits that their training pushes them beyond their limit but it was with good reason. There would be no second chance when facing a vampire head on on the battle field. He was going to ensure each girl in his class would be prepared for the worse when they became full-fledged AX members. They may hate this now, but they will be grateful later.

As he was about to turn away, he noticed Ion and Agnes doing their exercises beside Jessica and Esther. Agnes was struggling a little; her form was all over the place while she looked ready to pass out, which was no surprise to him. While she had no natural talent in the art of melee weapon combat or martial arts, he commended her for at least trying her best. Ion however looked completely calm and focused; a complete opposite to Agnes. Each of his swings with the blade came down straight and true with no wavering and great strength. Power seemed to radiate from him on a completely different scale to the rest of his class, Hugue was intrigued, "You there, what is your name?"

Ion gave one last thrust of his sword before lowering it to his side. He turned to their teacher and bowed his head respectfully, "My name is Erin, Erin Flortua."

Hugue nodded in acknowledgement, "Erin, come with me." He started walking towards the middle of the gym as he called out to the rest of the students, "Fall in everyone! We are going to do a few one on one matches!" All students stopped with their exercises and rushed over to one end of the gym. Ion assumed this must be the usual spot where they await further instructions from Father Watteau. They sat in rows, each student sitting arms length away from each other. They sat on their knees with their backs straight and their heads facing forward. Each student had their wooden sword rested in front of them as they remained calm and silent. Ion was impressed by this; Hugue seemed to keep his students in line very well. Even Esther and Jessica who got in trouble moments ago were sitting in pure silence.

"Erin," Hugue gestured for him to come over then looked to another student in the group, "Abigail, step up here." A girl with short black hair got up from the floor and walked over to Hugue, standing opposite Ion with her weapon in hand. Hugue looked to Ion and said, "I know you are new at this, so I will explain. In order to see your capabilities, I'm going to have you spar with Abigail. Your goal is to disarm your opponent. Please don't go overboard; we don't want any serious injuries." Ion nodded with understanding, although he didn't know why Hugue felt the need to test him. Esther was surprised by Hugue's request, although she kept this to herself. Abigail was the best swordswoman in their class, it seemed strange to have Erin tested against her so soon without seeing Erin's capabilities first. 'Father Watteau must have high expectations,' Esther figured.

Erin and Abigail turned their backs on each other and took five paces forward. They then turned to face each other again and got into position. Abigail held her wooden sword with two hands, right hand above the left and held it firmly in front of herself. Ion held his weapon in the same fashion but watched her reaction. She gave nothing away, she kept perfectly still as her piercing green eyes held his red ones. She seemed determined to win, that much was certain. She looked overconfident as well, probably from the easy competition she's had as not many of the girls here knew how to handle a sword. She had the advantage of height too; she was a head taller than him with longer limbs to his own. She would have longer reach and would move faster than other girls, but what she didn't know was no match for him. Still, he didn't want to embarrass her and he didn't want suspicion falling on him over his capabilities so he thought he'd take the defensive approach. He took his blade and held it horizontally before him, his right hand holding the handle and his left resting on the flat side of the blade, close to the tip.

They stood perfectly still for a while as though assessing each other and waiting for the best moment to strike. Ion only had to wait a moment before Abigail suddenly rushed forward. As she charged towards him, she switched the position of her blade and rested it by her right side, intending to swing at his ribs in a horizontal strike where he was supposedly open. When she swung towards him, he raised his blade and quickly slapped it towards the ground so her aim and form were off balance. The clash of wood against wood made a loud echo throughout the gym.

Ion would have had a good opportunity to disarm her but seeing it as too soon for such an act, he kept his blade over her own to see what she would do next. Abigail twisted and turned her blade to get out of the lock Ion had her in, when she found an opening she pulled her blade away from his and went to strike at him from overhead. Ion however deflected her attack by raising his blade to hers, using it as a shield. They stayed in this position for a moment while Abigail tried using her height and strength as an advantage to force him back, seeing as Ion was shorter and supposedly weaker but he didn't budge in the slightest. When this failed she started whacking his sword repeatedly with rapid but powerful vertical slashes, the same ones they were practicing a moment ago. She was hoping the multiple hits close to his face would either throw him off balance or lose his grip on his sword but Ion matched each hit without being intimidated in the slightest.

After a few hits when she raised her blade and went to slash downward again, Ion didn't guard against the attack but instead dodged it by spinning out of the way, twirling around her so he was now facing her back. This caught Abigail off guard as she expected her swing to make contact with Ion's blade, so now she was off balance as she fell forward from all the force she put into her swing. This would have been a good opportunity to strike at her back. If this was a real battle he would have won but knowing he was supposed to disarm her and not go for any vitals he backed away, giving Abigail an opportunity to recover as he got ready for the next round. Hugue, who was watching from the side lines had enough of this and said, "Erin, stop toying with her and disarm her already."

This comment surprised Abigail but confused Ion. How did Hugue know he was holding back? Was it due to Ion's lack of acting skill or was he just very perceptive? That would be the only reason as they only met for the first time today. Whatever the case, it didn't ease his opponent's state of mind. He could feel anger rising in Abigail as though she couldn't believe what Hugue just said, or was insulted that Ion wasn't giving his all when she thought he was. She turned towards Ion again, determined to bring him down this time and suddenly sprinted towards him. She raised her blade and went to swipe at his head but when he blocked, she started rapidly striking him wherever she thought he was open. Her swings were all over the place now. Unlike earlier, she wasn't paying much attention to what she was doing which gave Ion plenty of opportunities to bring her down. When the moment was right, he knocked Abigail's weapon up out of her hand and watched it fly towards the ceiling. When he thought it was over, Abigail suddenly made a move to tackle him but he dodged out of the way before she could. She didn't want to admit defeat it seems; even disarmed she was willing to continue fighting with her bare hands. This didn't alarm him though; if anything it amused him. Hugue made no move to stop them so he figured he'd show off a bit.

When she tried reaching him again, Ion quickly glanced at her the sword which was on its way back to the ground then flipped backwards to evade her. He flipped once, then twice and when he landed back on the ground in a crouched position, he watched Abigail run towards him before he suddenly charged towards her. Abigail wasn't intimidated by his acrobatics or his decision to take the offensive approach, she was confident in her ability to take him down as he was smaller and thinner than she was. Once they got within arm's reach of each other, Abigail went to grab him but before she could, Ion suddenly leapt high in the air and came down on her shoulders while doing a hand stand, sword still in hand. He then used her to rebound himself back into the air and somersaulted a few times before catching her sword and landing back on the ground smoothly. With both swords in hand, Ion turned to her and struck with one blade at her stomach, winding her as a result. While she bent forward with her arms wrapped around her stomach, Ion twirled and struck her again but this time at her back. Abigail collapsed to the ground in defeat while Ion stood over her, in case she tried fighting again but it looked like this time she submits. Hopefully he didn't hurt her too badly, he made sure to hold back a lot of his strength as he knew Terrans were delicate, especially Terran women but she brought this on herself so in ways, she deserved it.

The class meanwhile stared at Ion in both awe and disbelief. Abigail was always the top of their class so it was hard to believe she was beaten so easily. Ion made it look as if anyone could do it. Not only did his skill with a sword impress them, it was his acrobatics as well. He was gifted, just like their teacher. The girls couldn't help but applaud Ion's great skill. Jessica and Agnes clapped as well while Esther just stared at him dumbfounded. Ion tried to ignore the applause he was getting but inside he was ecstatic. Back at the Empire, he always had to push himself beyond his limits to keep up with other Methuselah. He was very young compared to the others he trained with so his power level wasn't as high as theirs. Still, he didn't want this holding him back so he did everything he could to bridge the gap between them, a lot of times failing but here it was a different story. It was nice to finally be recognised for his skill, he worked hard to get to where he was and he was going to continue getting better.

Hugue's lips curved into a slight smile, another rare sight for the girls that noticed. He was rarely impressed, and it was an even rarer sight to see him smile, however it vanished as quickly as it appeared. When he approached them, Ion bowed low and held the two swords by his side while Abigail slowly picked herself up from the floor and bowed her head as well, not as low as Ion but enough to show respect. Father Watteau looked at Ion first and said, "You still have a long way to go, but you show promise." Ion wasn't sure if that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment but kept his silence regardless.

Hugue looked to Abigail then, "Raise your head." Abigail hesitated at first; knowing she was going to be punished in some way but knew if she didn't obey then she would get in more trouble. Building up her courage, she slowly raised her head but before she could even look at their teacher's face, Hugue suddenly slapped her across the face which startled the whole class. Abigail nearly fell to the ground again but regained her posture as best as she could. Her eyes were wide with shock while she felt numbing pain in her cheek. She slowly raised a hand to it and winced when she tried touching it. Hugue didn't show any pity, "What you did was unforgiveable. Erin disarmed you and yet you continued fighting when you knew the rules. This was not a brawl. I expected better from you." Hugue's words hurt more than the slap did, she couldn't help but feel she not only disappointed him but also herself. Tears were building behind her eyelids but her pride held them back, she was not going to show more weakness in this defeat.

Hugue turned to the rest of the class then and questioned them as to what they learnt from Ion's and Abigail's duel. While this was in progress, Ion walked up to Abigail and held out her sword. He wasn't sure if enquiring about her condition was a good idea so he thought perhaps complimenting her might smooth things over between them, "You did well."

All Abigail did was glare as she swiped her pole from his hand, "Don't think this is over. I will make you pay for embarrassing me like that." Ion raised an eyebrow quizzically. Didn't she bring that embarrassment on herself by challenging him, even after he disarmed her? While her threat made no sense to him, it was also a hollow one. She didn't even hit him once in their duel and while he not only disarmed her and defeated her but he also had numerous opportunities to strike at her vitals. Lucky for her their fight wasn't for real or with sharp blades. Still, he smiled at her determination, even though it was more of a mocking smile.

With nothing further to say, Ion turned his back on her and went to sit down with the rest of the class while another two students were chosen to duel. Once seated, he noticed Abigail glare at him as she walked back to her original spot, thankfully away from where he was.

'I have another enemy, just what I needed,' Ion thought to himself as he sighed.

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Abel was walking down a corridor with some folders in hand, ready to teach at one of his classes. Before he reached the classroom however, Dietrich was walking towards him with some papers in hand. He showed them to Abel as they were part of his report on the ladder incident in the library which involved Esther. After cleaning up the damage caused, Dietrich took over the investigation while Abel assisted where needed to give direction or his opinions on what Dietrich found out. Abel had other matters he needed to prioritise over but he had faith in Dietrich's abilities. What the young man had concluded however surprised him.

"A prank?!" Abel exclaimed in shock, "Are you certain?"

Dietrich nodded, "While the ladder was old, what happened was not by natural causes. I spoke to Father Butler about it and he mentioned a vial of his had gone missing from one of his lab classes. I'm not certain of the exact name of it but it was a kind of acidic substance. Father Wordsworth also confirms its disappearance as they both make equipment checks regularly."

"And because of this, you suspect it was a prank?"

"What other reason is there? Those labs are mainly accessed by students, besides Father Butler and Father Wordsworth who we know are responsible adults and trusted AX. Students are unpredictable and some feel the need to prove themselves to others. I bet they thought seeing someone fall from that ladder would be hysterical but they didn't take into account what could happen like when the ladder would actually fall apart, who would be on it, where it would be placed, what damage it would cause and so on. Because of how poorly thought out that prank was, I have high suspicions it was a student."

Abel pondered over Dietrich's facts, "And the fact that Esther was on the ladder?"

"Could have been setup or was pure coincidence. It was fortunate she didn't get seriously hurt or anyone else for that matter."

Abel nodded, "Very well, I guess we will need to further investigate this with Father Wordsworth's and Father Butler's classes. It's strange but I didn't think a student would do such a thing."

"We will find out soon enough," Dietrich advised. After a few more words were exchanged, Abel excused himself as he was running late for his class and walked away slightly troubled. Dietrich watched him go before turning to walk towards on of the class laboratories. This was not where Father Wordsworth and Father Butler would generally stay if classes weren't in session, as they had better equipped labs for private use but in this particular class that Dietrich walked into, Father Butler was there writing formulas on the blackboard. He had long purple hair which was tied back and wore the standard black uniform the AX men wore. Dietrich leaned against one of the various desks on the room and briefly read what was on the board before saying, "I informed Father Nightroad of my investigation findings."

Father Butler continued writing on the board as he asked, "What did he say?"

"He seemed to agree with what I told him." Dietrich replied.

"Very well."

After a few moments of silence, with nothing but the sounds of chalk writing being heard, Dietrich spoke up again, "Was this really necessary Isaak? Why did it have to be Esther on that ladder?" Father Butler stopped writing then as Dietrich continued, "Considering who she is, I didn't think putting her life on the line like that was needed."

"Concerning yourself with ifs and buts lead nowhere Dietrich. Worry all you like, but the fact is Esther only got minor injuries, thanks to Erin's intervention as planned." Father Butler turned to look Dietrich in the eye, "Erin wouldn't have acted if it was anyone else. Esther was the right choice, no matter who she is. Besides, this removes the spotlight on you so it can be placed on someone else when the time is right."

"Did you get what data you needed from it?"

"Somewhat; it's a step in the right direction." Isaak walked up to Dietrich and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You trust me, don't you?"

Dietrich stared up at him for a moment before slowly nodding.

"If we had her that night you set up a meeting, this wouldn't have been needed. However, because you saw Erin instead and had that little fight, we've had to change our plans slightly. Do not worry, it doesn't change the outcome, we just need to let things settle for the moment."

"I understand," Dietrich replied as he began to think about Esther.

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Classes were over for the day, at least for most students. Esther and Jessica were back at the gym where they met Hugue for their punishment as promised. Both were handed buckets and cloths and were left to scrub the gym floors unsupervised. Jessica whined like there was no tomorrow, as she had done this once before and hoped never to do it again.

"Grrr! This is so unfair! I swear Mr Watteau does this to spite me!" Jessica complained as she squeezed the life out of her cloth.

"Well, we just need to behave better next time," Esther mentioned as she wiped down the area where she was kneeling.

Jessica sighed, "At least I'm not on my own so it shouldn't take as long."

"We still have a long way to go though," Esther observed as she scanned the large gym. This made both girls slump their shoulders in despair, knowing they will be here for quite some time.

Ion was watching them from the glass doors; noticing how they would crouch in one spot, scrub there then waddle to another spot, scrub there and repeat the process. He grew tired just watching them, at this rate they would be there for hours. He had no idea why he was watching, he had plenty of other things he could do, like resume his mission but part of him didn't want to leave Esther unsupervised. She was with Jessica but that didn't give him much comfort.

Just then, a sudden migraine hit him which caused Ion to stagger in one spot before he propped one arm up against the doorway. He tried to regain his composure but this headache seemed to get worse more he fought it. Bringing a hand to his face, Ion closed his eyes as a vision suddenly came before him.

FLASHBACK

He was in a palace, and a very large one at that. It reminded him of Sarai Castle at the Empire but it wasn't the same, this place had a dark eerie feel to it. The moonlight was shining through a series of large arch windows while torches against the stone walls were lit. He noticed someone walk through some large double doors then, the doors towered in height and size compared to the figure but they went through them with ease.

They walked gracefully into the excessively large audience chambers with their long white cape fluttering behind them in toe. Ion remembered this man, or this Methuselah, he had a vision of him once before in a human village that was being destroyed. He had that same battle armour on, that metallic onyx colour which reflected everything off it like mirrors. He still had his helmet on so his face remained unseen but his long blonde pony tail stood out like his cape.

The figure stopped then, as he looked to be gazing at something on the other side of the room. There was someone else in the room; they had a bucket at their side with a cloth soaking in the water while this smaller more slender figure had a scrubbing brush in hand. Their small feminine hand scrubbed at the floors slowly, effortlessly while their sapphire blue eyes stared at the soap suds forming from each scrub, along with the dirt that surfaced.

After a few moments of scrubbing, they stopped to brush back some of their long red hair behind their ear as they said, "Don't you have anything else better to do than to stare at me like some dog?" While her words were bitter, Ion couldn't help but notice how beautiful her voice was; how heavenly it sounded. It had a calm, tranquil feel where he felt he could lose himself to her voice. It was strangely familiar but he couldn't see her face to see if he knew her.

"You are one, it's as simple as that," the figure in black armour answered. His words held a touch of malice in them but like this woman, he had a beautiful voice as well, only his deep masculine voice was hypnotic and commanding. While his presence was enough to intimidate you, his voice made you want to do anything if it meant hearing him speak again. If he told you to take your life, you would gladly do it without a second thought. This woman however didn't seem affected by the spell in his voice. She glared at him from the other side of the room and said, "No, dogs are obedient and listen to their masters. You fit that description much better than me."

Her words seemed to strike some nerve with the armoured figure as they turned in her direction and was suddenly next to her in less than a second. He was definitely a Methuselah to be able to move that fast. Ion didn't even see him move which showed how powerful this man really was.

The Methuselah reached for the woman's hands then as he dragged to her to her feet by force. She wore a faded grey dress with a white apron, looking like some sort of maid, servant, or perhaps a slave.

"Ow! You're hurting me!" The woman gasped, although her words went unheard. The armoured figure looked to be examining her hands, his gloved hands caressing over the blistered caused by scrubbing all night. The touch was soft and tender, not like how she was forced to her feet moments ago. But it was then that the woman was thrown backwards into a wall which caused her to wince in pain. She collapsed to the ground and glared angrily at the armoured man. He only looked at her briefly before glancing down at her cleaning materials. He picked up the scrubbing brush and said, "You will be here all night at the rate you're going."

The Methuselah got down on the ground with his two hands over the scrubbing brush and suddenly glided across the floors with the brush at arm's length and himself running low to the ground. He ran up and down the chambers at such speed that all you could see were the soap suds bubbling after him. The woman was wide eyed at this from all this that she hadn't noticed after a minute or so that he was done. The armoured figure dropped the brush into the bucket, causing a little splash of the water before he kicked the bucket in her direction. It didn't tip over but merely slid across the wet floor till it rested in front of her.

"Take this lesson into account, for it will not happen again. Use the same technique to wash away the soap suds with the cloth." He turned his back on her and headed towards the exit but before he could he stopped for a moment, hearing something head in his direction he turned and caught the scrubbing brush he had tossed into the bucket. The woman at the other end of the room had thrown that at him and didn't look all too impressed. She pointed at him in fury and yelled, "Don't expect me to be grateful! You vampires are all the same! I swear I will make you pay for what you did to my people and for doing this to me!"

"Don't test me," the armoured figure warned as he crushed the brush in his hand effortlessly, allowing the remains of the brush to float to the floor which was nothing more than bristles and crushed powder, "For things could be much worse than this, much worse, that I can promise you."

END OF FLASHBACK

Ion's headache faded away then, leaving him back at the doorway to the gym with Esther and Jessica still inside. What was that all about? Did watching the two girls clean the gym trigger another strange vision? Was it from the Armageddon? It made less sense than the previous vision he had, but this time it looked to involve someone else, a woman, but was she a Methuselah or perhaps a Terran?

"You had the same idea it seems," a voice from behind him said which startled Ion at first until he noticed it was Agnes. She smiled at him before peering through the glass doorway at Esther and Jessica, "I feel sorry for them so I thought I would help in any way I could."

Ion wiped his face free of any excess sweat left from his migraine and said, "Helping them wouldn't make this much of a punishment. If Father Watteau caught you..."

"It will be alright, I'm sure he is busy with more important matters." She opened the door and walked inside without a second thought. Ion hesitated at first but followed after her. Esther and Jessica were ecstatic to see them, when Agnes offered to help, Jessica accepted gratefully. Ion figured he'd help too as standing around wasn't going to get this done any faster. Once he and Agnes got themselves a bucket and a cloth, they got down on the ground beside the others girls and started scrubbing. Even with Agnes and himself helping, this was still going to take a while. That was when Ion thought about his vision.

Putting into practise what the armoured Methuselah did, Ion got on all fours, holding the cloth with two hands out in front of him and ran to the other end of the gym with his body low to the ground. It seemed faster and more effective so he did this again and ran back to the other end of the gym in the same matter. The three other girls watched Ion quizzically at first, but when they noticed what he was doing, they gave it a try and noticed right away how much quicker cleaning was this way.

It wasn't long till they started making a game out of it; first they would race against one another to see who could make it to the other end first. Naturally it was always Ion, followed by Esther, Jessica then Agnes. Then they would do relay matches where one would scrub and run down one end, tag their partner and watch them make to back to the other end before the other team to win. Ion was paired with Agnes while Esther and Jessica made the other team. Jessica and Agnes would race each other first, tag Esther and Ion and cheer for them as they ran back to the other end. Agnes was slower than Jessica but Ion always managed to outran Esther to win for the both of them. Of course, after a few matches Esther got sick of losing and would try tripping or knocking Ion out of the way but the Methuselah wouldn't be outdone so easily.

"Oh come on Erin! Let me and Jessica win one for once!" Esther laughed.

"Let you win? That wouldn't be much of a victory now would it?" Ion smiled back at her as he got ready to win yet another match for himself and Agnes. Before he could however, Esther suddenly pounced on him which caused him to fall flat on the floor. Esther crawled off him and got ready to beat him to the other end of the gym but Ion grabbed her leg before she could and pulled her back to him while she squealed and laughed while struggling to get free. He climbed on top of her and tried pushing her back but she held onto him with surprising force and rolled them over so she was now on top.

While they continued wrestling, Jessica and Agnes watched them quizzically, "What are they doing?" Agnes looked to Jessica.

"I have no idea, but it looks like fun!" Jessica laughed as she suddenly grabbed her friend and ran over to join the other two. Ion and Esther didn't see them coming, so when Jessica and Agnes suddenly fell on top of them, Esther who was on top of Ion got pressed closer to him suddenly with her face was now against his own. To make matters even worse, their lips made contact with one another. It was a slight brush of lips against lips, not considered an actual kiss but it was enough to make both Ion and Esther freeze in shock as they stared at one another.

"What's going on in here?" Hugue asked as he walked into the gym, staring down at the four girls in curiosity. They all jumped when they heard his voice and quickly got off the floor, all except for Ion that is who had a blank look on his face as it burned bright red. "Erin? Is something wrong?" Hugue asked, noticing how red his face was. Ion didn't hear him; all he was focused on was the feeling of Esther's velvety soft lips against his own. His head was spinning while his heart was thumping like crazy against his chest. His lips tingled as if he could still feel them there; he was too shocked to move in case something else happened which he wasn't prepared for.

Hugue kneeled beside the blonde and brought a hand to his forehead to check if he was developing a fever. That slight contact snapped Ion out of his thoughts as he grabbed Hugue by the wrist defensively, he did it so quickly that it caught Father Watteau off guard, not to mention his grip was surprisingly strong. Ion realised what he was doing then and quickly let go, "I-I'm sorry... I'm just, that is, how did, I um..."

Hugue stared at him for a moment before suddenly picking him up bridal style, "I think a trip to the infirmary is in order."

"W-What!?" Ion exclaimed, "I don't need to see a nurse! Put me down righ-" Before he could finish, Hugue suddenly flashed him a glare which ordered complete silence. Ion obeyed as he felt he was in no position to argue but once he got carried outside the gym, he noticed a lot of female students stare at both himself and Hugue in shock. Father Watteau didn't seem to notice but Ion felt jealousy burn in these girls as Hugue passed them and felt this was going to cause more problems than he bargained for.

Jessica and Agnes watched them go and wondered why Hugue was so willing to help Erin when she wasn't exactly hurt or anything. Jessica glanced at her friend and noticed her stare longingly after Hugue as though wishing that was her. Meanwhile, Esther had a hand over her mouth as she questioned over and over in her head why she was so embarrassed by this. She sort of kissed another girl, big deal, but her heart was beating so frantically that it seemed more to her than she originally thought. What was her heart trying to tell her?

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**Author's Note:** Oh wow, how long as it been since I last updated this story? I feel so guilty for neglecting it for so long, forgive me -- It's why I purposely made this chapter a bit longer than the others to make up for how long it was put on hold. It's strange, for so long I had no idea where to go with this that when I started writing, I just couldn't stop when I had no idea what direction to go in. I guess I should just write instead of trying to plan before hand. I'm happy with how it turned out; at least I didn't have five or so versions of this chapter written before I was satisfied. This was only the second lol. I hope no one's forgotten about this story, I once again apologise for the long LONG delay. Please let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions please let me know. I thank you for the support :D


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